The inevitable arrival each spring of potholes for the District of Houston to fill has already had workers out and about, responding to the District’s own list and sightings called in by residents.
As of two weeks ago, the District had used about 1,500 pounds of fill mixture with workers applying it one shovel at a time where needed
“We have used about two pallets of fill material so far, approximately 15 bags on each pallet and each bag weighs 50 pounds,” said District of Houston chief administrative officer Michael Dewar as of March 11.
In the meantime, the District council is pondering a planned expenditure this year of $600,000 on roadworks, including repairs and rehabilitation.
That figure and details of what’s involved will be considered at the next council meeting as council works to finalize its operations and capital spending budgets for the year.
In most recent years, some of the District’s $6.5 million provincial grant for major projects received over 2019 and 2020 has gone into road works and it assigns amounts from annual federal gas tax rebates to roads as well.
A report on the District’s assets has suggested that an expenditure of $1.5 million a year is needed to maintain District roads.
Generally speaking, asphalt surfaces have a 13-15 year lifecycle, a factor that also depends upon the condition of a road’s base prior to being paved.
Paving and repairs drew a comment from resident and business owner Eric Bishop in an email sent to council in response to spending plans for 2022.
“I do not mean $100,000 or $500,000 on street paving, but $1 million at least. Our streets are beyond terrible. The street I have lived on for almost 25 years now is an embarrassment,” he wrote.
Bishop also wants the District to purchase a new street sweeper and not, as he called it, “some city’s worn out junk”.
“It would be awesome if we could go for a walk in town in the spring without risking a respiratory attack,” Bishop said.
In another email, Dawn Bishop also advocated for more road repair, saying that the issue becomes larger the longer repairs aren’t carried out.
“It would also be beyond appreciated that the street cleaner is in working order in a timely manner to avoid last year’s frustration with air quality and walking comfort, she added.
Last year the District’s own street sweeper spent a portion of the spring in Smithers having its rear engine repaired so the District borrowed the Village of Burns Lake’s backup unit and hired a second unit.
This year the District’s sweeper is once again out of service and being repaired.
“We have contracted the road work out, and have our crews assisting with sidewalk and pathway sweeping,” said District of Houston chief administrative officer Michael Dewar.