Rural roads need upgrades before winter maintenance

The city looks to be adding to their road repair budget to follow through with a recent council request regarding two country roads.

Recently, Timmins city council approved a motion that will see winter maintenance performed on Charland and Bertrand Roads off of Municipal Road in the east end.

However, an inspection revealed that unsurprisingly, the roads need an upgrade to meet standards established by the Ontario Minimum Maintenance Standards Regulation.

According to Krcel’s presentation, it will cost an estimated $65,000 to bring the road up to standard.

“(That $65,000) is just the basics to make it so we can go in and go plow the roads, turn around and come out and make sure the roads are wide enough for regular vehicles and make the culvert safe,” Krcel told council.

There was a bit of confusion, as Councillor Rick Dubeau questioned why the report was on the agenda in the first place.

Mayor Steve Black was quick to point out it’s an informational piece for council to learn why the roads can’t be plowed in their current state and what needs to happen to change that.

A tender will go out to companies to bid on the project, and that’s when the actual cost will be learned.

From there, council will vote whether or not to proceed with the project.

Learn more by checking out the city document on the matter HERE.