Condition Report On The City’s Roadways More Than A Little Bump In The Road
The “best kept” local secret - the poor condition of Moose Jaw’s roads - is now officially public.
The public release of it was likened to a “slap in the face” by Mayor Clive Tolley.
It all came out during a presentation by the consulting firm KGS Group giving a brief overview of the new Transportation Master Plan (TMP) at Council on Monday afternoon.
KGS conducted an extensive review of all aspects of transportation in the city and prepared the Transportation Master Plan at a cost of about $250,000.
The review included an examination and assessment of every public roadway - 227 kilometers of roadway - in the city.
Bruce Belmore from the consulting firm KGS Group addresses Council - MJ Independent photo
The review found the majority of roadways in Moose Jaw are in fair to poor condition.
“The overall pavement condition for the overall (road) network is considered in ‘Fair condition’,” the TMP states.
Bruce Belmore from KGS Group told Council there needed to be change in how the City provides preventative road maintenance as many roads are in Fair or poorer condition.
“You think of a road in fair condition being OK but it’s also at a tipping point of not being a good road in short order,” Belmore stated.
He said preventative maintenance was import to extend the lifespan of roads.
“Over a short time period a road can go from being a good road to one that needs full reconstruction. It’s a very short time period. Roads fail very quickly. Intervention through maintenance or minor resurfacing can extend the life of a facility and avoid costly reconstruction,” Belmore said.
He said the secret to saving money in the long run was quit being stingy when it came to road maintenance as it was cheaper in the long run.
“Spending slightly more budget up front will reduce those costs over time of the costly reconstruction.”
If Moose Jaw changes how they maintain the streets in the end it is cheaper than costly reconstruction. The TMP calls for shifting funds from main roads and moving it into not so well travelled roadways.
He said that the City needs to do its sidewalk repairs and roadwork together to reduce overall costs
It is just one of the 71 recommendations in the TMP.
Roadway ratings according to the Transportation Master Plan. Purple indicates roadways in Fair condition. Orange indicates poor to fair. While Red indicates roadways in poor to very poor condition.
For Mayor Tolley seeing how bad Moose Jaw’s roads are was embarrassing.
“It is kind of an eye opener and a slap in the face when you realize the road conditions most of them are orange lines (in the detailed map) which means they’re in poor to fair condition,” he said.
He said a TMP was needed to better efficient in roadway maintenance and repair.
“I agree with you we need a full Transportation Master Plan so we’re working smarter and not using guess work and spending our money as effectively as we can.”
Councillor Doug Blanc said he agreed that Moose Jaw’s roads are in poor condition.
“There are a couple of areas I agree with you. It says our roadways in poor condition and potholes need to be filled and snow removal needs to looked at,” Councillor Blanc said.
Councillor Heather Eby said the report backs up why the City is doing preventative maintenance and repairs to what are considered to be roads in good shape.
“It’s important and you did mention it minor resurfacing can extend the lifetime of a roadway. Oftentimes we get criticized or our staff gets criticized ‘why are they fixing that road it’s good.’ But minor resurfacing can extend the life of a roadway and then down the road save us more money,” Councillor Eby said.
She felt it was “nice to be proactive and not reactive. It’s certainly a nice document.”
Although supporting the need for preventive maintenance on roadways - as outlined in the TMP - she cautioned Moose Jaw could not afford the cost of all 71 recommendations.
“In a perfect world if we could implement everything it would be fantastic,” she said, adding “The total projected cost to do everything was you know ridiculous and it will never happen but it’s good to have lofty goals and good plans.”
The estimated capital costs of the major components in the TMP is estimated to cost $12.8 million to $16.3 million.