The finishing touches are being put on the 1.4-kilometre section of Highway 101 east known as 'Phase 1' of the city's 10-year Connecting Link this week. Early feedback suggests that the road between the Bruce Avenue junction and the Tisdale Cemetery was well constructed, but there are some big questions moving forward.
On Monday evening at city hall, AECOM's Project Manager Ted Archuticz and Ludomir Uzarowski, a pavement expert, provided council a detailed analysis of the life cycle expected from Phase 1, and how it could apply to the remaining sections of the project.
"As council, Mayor Black, and everyone I guess in Timmins knows, we did finish the paving and we're just tidying up some of the electrical work and hopefully its going to be completed very soon" said Archuticz.
The report stated the section in question was in desperate need of repairs. There was severe rutting and severe 'alligator cracking' which is distress in pavement characterized by a web like cluster of cracks, which some say resembles an alligator hide. Borehole investigations showed that the granular layers underneath the asphalt were typically poor and consisted of sands and gravel, and that their thickness was highly variable, and that the soil was 'typically silty clay in moist to wet condition'.
Monday's discussion lasted a total of an hour and nine minutes, with the nitty-gritty of geo-technical surveying and pavement design explored in detail.
Uzarowski, a PhD and Engineer with Golder Associates Ltd, with more than 40 years of experience analyzing pavement, made it clear what he feels is the No. 1 factor for prolonging asphalt life.
"I'm obsessed with drainage," he said, adding its something he's known for.
The report emphasizes the importance of proper draining for both the surface and sub-surface, as well as stating that maintenance on catch-basins and ditches is 'critical'. Last spring, a sinkhole opened up not far from the Bruce Avenue junction due to poor drainage, and maintenance on area ditches was later described as 'more than we can handle' by Director of Public Works and Engineering Luc Duval.
Uzarowski also presented an LCCA (Life Cycle Cost Analysis) of 3 options for future phases of the Connecting Link project. Essentially the most expensive option up front, and the thickest layer of asphalt, would lead to lower costs in the long run through savings on maintenance.
The immediate financial impact that could have on the city's budget and taxpayers raised a few eyebrows from council.
Several heated discussions have occurred in the past year regarding all aspects of Phase 1, including thickness of asphalt, and the distance of roadway completed. Uzarowski made a bold, but fairly obvious statement.
"My observation is that your unit rates are extremely high, maybe I shouldn't say this," he said cautiously, before Archuticz firmly echoed the point.
"The unit costs of asphalt, they're very high in Timmins," he said, before Uzarowski continued with more raw information.
"I can tell you they are much, much higher than in other parts of the province. I like Miller (Paving) I work with Miller, but you know, if you have more competition, the prices go down. And don't think that I'm devious, but I've talked to some big players in the province, and if there's an opportunity of a big project, they will not come for 1 or 2 million dollars, but if its multi-millions for those big players it would be worth bringing a portable plant and pave, and if you introduce competition, the prices will go down," said Uzarowski.
Councillor Rick Dubeau, who previously brought up the idea of the city running its own asphalt plant, admitted that it is not realistic due to the relatively low amount of asphalt the city purchases annually.
"So the price we're paying is higher than other places, but based on how much we buy, its probably a fair price because the cost of operating an asphalt plant is extremely expensive, and I didn't understand that. So unless we go much bigger, and much larger aspects, this is what we live with," said Dubeau.
Mayor Steve Black wants to see a big financial commitment from the upper levels of government for the Connecting Link. Andrew Autio for TimminsToday Mayor Steve Black said the completed section was 'a beautiful stretch of highway' and that it was the most work done on the Connecting Link in at least 10 years.
Timmins received the most funding from the provincial government this year, out of all 77 Ontario municipalities, for work on local Connecting Link projects.
"So it was a great start to a massive project," said Black.
He also realized that the city will not likely be this fortunate every year, so new plans are needed as the city can't rely on the $3 million going forward.
"Because there's going to be years where they're going to tell us 'No, you've had your kick at the can, and there's another city that needs some Connecting Link dollars," he said.
Black said there needs to be a much more significant commitment from upper levels of government. He referenced Sudbury's Maley Drive project, which received a $27-million commitment from the federal government in April, and is essentially a 'one-third, one-third, one-third' project between the feds, the province, and the City of Greater Sudbury.
"So that we can get the best bang for our buck. Because I do believe that if we tendered it out as a larger scale project, we would see better dollars for all three partners. We would see better competition. We would see some of those companies come in and make bids as well for the total package," he said.
Black noted that the road work for the project is 'supposed to be 90 percent funded by the province' but gave kudos for their recent actions.
"I want to say thank you to Minister (Steven) Del Duca and Premier (Kathleen) Wynne for the changes they've made on the Connecting Links program over the last year or two. It went from non-existent, to back in play, to doubling the total dollars. I want to say thank you for the contribution they've made to Timmins in starting 'Phase 1' and I'm hoping that I get to say thank you in the future for them acknowledging that we've got a lot more to do, and we need a different plan of attack to get the whole project accomplished," said Black.
