County council agrees to lift load restrictions around Creemore
County councillors have agreed to lift seasonal load restrictions on a portion of County Roads 9 and 42.
The decision was made at a May 22 County of Simcoe committee of the whole meeting in response to a request from the Township of Clearview, specifically a number of Creemore and area businesses that rely on trucking to move goods and provide services.
A committee of affected businesses, going by the name of Clearview Road Upgrade Committee, including Creemore Springs Brewery, Alliance Homes, Midwest Metals and many agricultural related businesses came forward requesting a 10-kilometre portion of the county roads be brought up to standard to allow for full loads, negating the need for half loads in March and April, during the spring thaw.
Deputy Mayor Barry Burton, who was championing the issue on behalf of those businesses said of the three options on the table he is happy to see the restrictions lifted but would have rather had council support the option with funding for road reconstruction built in.
“I wanted a commitment from council to put it in the 2019 budget so that it would actually get it done, so the road would be upgraded and they would apply this special foam injected asphalt that helps support the weight of the full load vehicles during the spring thaw,” said Burton.
He said there was a lot of support from council to do something to address the restrictions but there was more support for option 3 – to lift the restrictions in 2019, monitor the condition of the roads and adjust the rehabilitation schedule as required.
“It’s all going to be based on how much the road degrades again over the next couple of years,” said Burton, adding he would have preferred the work be on the books with a plan to get it done.
The county’s director of transportation and engineering Christian Meile reported the portion of County Roads 9 and 42 are in good condition with an overall pavement condition index in the range of 75 to 85 out of 100. “Although the precise impact of removing the seasonal load limits is unknown, it is certain to reduce the useful life of the road and cause premature surface deficiencies that would need to be addressed.”
Currently, the road is not scheduled for rehabilitation until 2028.
“The useful life for these sections would be adjusted within the current asset management plans with treatment advanced 4 or 5 years, depending on how quickly the road deteriorates,” reported Meile.
“Some people expressed concern that others are going to want the same treatment and that’s a possibility but our communities are growing and our businesses are growing and we have to face up to the responsibilities of those growth issues and part of that is transportation,” said Burton.
“I was happy to at least get option 3 and there was big support for something to be done but more of them took the wait-and-see attitude. And $3 million is a lot of money but it’s really a drop in the bucket.”
With the cost of full depth reconstruction for this 10-kilometre section estimated at $20 million, other rehabilitation options were explored. “Stabilization of the existing road base using expanded asphalt with additional base and surface course overlay would provide for the required strength and is projected to provide an 18-year useful life. It is estimated this project would cost approximately $3 million with some additional costs for drainage improvements,” reported Meile.
File photo: Alliance Homes developer Alex Troop speaks in favour of lifting half load restrictions at a Clearview Township council meeting.
