The City of Prince George has released its list of roads and sidewalks scheduled for rehabilitation and construction during the 2017 paving season.
The year’s largest projects will be on Foothills Boulevard, which is scheduled for rehabilitation in the southbound lane from Fifth to 15th Avenue, and in the northbound lane from First to Fifth Avenue.
Scheduled construction for this year also includes the rehabilitation of 12 sidewalks, and the installation of six new ones, including:
- Westwood Drive (west side) from Range Road to Ferry Avenue
- Cathedral Avenue (south side) from Westgate Avenue to Westmount Drive
- Malaspina Avenue (south side) from Loyola Crescent to Loedel Drive
During budget deliberations earlier this year, council approved a budget of $5 Million for road rehabilitation projects, $600,000 for sidewalk rehabilitation, and $400,000 for new sidewalk construction projects. Crews will begin major rehabilitation and construction activities when hot mix asphalt is available in commercial plants in May and are expected to wrap up operations by late October. The city will provide weekly updates regarding the dates and locations of scheduled road and sidewalk rehabilitation and construction projects. Motorists are advised to look for alternate routes whenever possible and to drive with caution around road crews.
New asphalt recycler now in operation
As “pothole season” begins, the City of Prince George has a new tool to help to ensure longer-lasting patches – even before paving season starts in earnest later this spring. Purchased last year for roughly $225,000 (including set-up), the Bagela Asphalt Recycler can produce up to 10 tonnes of “hot mix” asphalt per hour during the colder months of the year when the less preferable “cold mix” asphalt must typically be used.
This year has been a easier year in terms of potholes as the city has filled 1,530 potholes in the first three months of the year. That compares to 4,981 filled during the first three months of 2016, and 7,133 filled during the same period in 2015.
Crews with the city began patching potholes with hot mix from the recycler late last year. When using the asphalt recycler, old asphalt is loaded into the unit’s hopper and fed into a drum. The asphalt material is heated, mixed in the drum, and recycled back into hot mix asphalt. Within eight to 10 minutes, one tonne of recycled asphalt can be produced for immediate use.
With the use of an asphalt recycler, new aggregate does not have to be mined and quarried, new asphaltic oils need not be refined, transport requirements of raw materials are reduced, and GHG emissions are limited. The only additional resources required are the fuel needs of the asphalt recycler, equipment to fill the hopper, and to transport and place the recycled asphalt. It is also possible to recycle the same section of asphalt numerous times.
