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Roads department fills in the cracks of aging system

Bowen has an aging road system, aging docks, damaged culverts and the need for pedestrian and cycling lanes. Safety improvements such as guard rails, rock and slope stabilization and traffic calming are also necessary.

Bowen has an aging road system, aging docks, damaged culverts and the need for pedestrian and cycling lanes. Safety improvements such as guard rails, rock and slope stabilization and traffic calming are also necessary. But the funding to accomplish this is limited.

In a special council meeting on Monday, Wil Hilsen, manager of engineering and operation, presented a report on the 2011 road capital upgrade plan. He first gave an overview to "give a sense of the overall structure and how we break it down."

Road surfaces need to be maintained but "we also have to keep in mind that our docks are aging and we have to work to maintain them, that includes inspections," Hilsen said. "And there are damages due to storms and other external factors. There are drainage systems and we need to work on improving existing storm drains. Some of them are of lower quality. Some of them are rotting. We are working on ditch and drainage improvement to address erosion or flood related issues."

Additional concerns are the construction of roadside trails, cycling lanes and sidewalks. Safety issues will be addressed by installing guard rails and Hilsen's department is looking at rockfall hazards in the areas of Taylor Road, Woods Road, Eagle Cliff Road and Channel View Drive.

Hilsen said, "We have to keep up the work on the existing capital at an acceptable level. That means we we need to find a balance and use common sense."

In order to develop a viable strategy, Hilsen looked at the road capital expenditures over the last three years. In 2008, the work focused on the "worst first" roads to address immediate repairs. As a result, only a small portion of the funds went toward road rehabilitation. In 2009, the program shifted towards preventative maintenance, rehabilitation and construction techniques to maintain and prevent deterioration. This trend continued in 2010 where the majority of the work went towards rehabilitation of the road surface.

In a 2009 pavement surface evaluation, less than 50 per cent of Bowen roads were considered good quality and Hilsen thinks that many of them have deteriorated since then.

The primary factor for determining priorities is the service level. It takes road class, snow plow priority, bus routes and whether it is a through road into consideration. The type of road, whether it is an asphalt or a chip seal road, influences the rating as well. "We also look at steep grading as it affects vehicle braking and acceleration, this is a consideration of safety."

The age and road condition are also taken into account. Normally, the road condition takes more precedence but on Bowen, this factor makes up only 19 per cent of the priority determination. Since the general road condition is so poor, the benefit of positively affecting most road users outweighs the need to improve some low-volume, poor-condition roads.

Hilsen presented the proposed capital plan that focuses primarily on rehabilitation and replacement of existing infrastructure. Additional work will include the installation of safety barricades and storm drainage works.

Hilsen said, "At the BICS school bus drop off area, we have a drainage issue and we are planning to do some work for pedestrian access." That work will commence during the school break. Culvert replacements and asphalt overlay are planned for Grafton Road. And road rehab and paving will happen on Bowen Bay Road and Tunstall Boulevard. Other areas will see chip seal application, spray patching, crack sealing and cold mix patching. Hilsen said, "We are going to use a new technique: spray patching. Crack sealing is a process we used in past. We found it very successful for extending the life of the asphalt."

The cost of the road work is estimated at $425,000 and matches the budget that has been allocated from the roads capital reserve fund. But some work on higher priority roads will have to be postponed. The Bowen Island Trunk Road will see only pavement patching that is deemed necessary to maintain the road to a minimum standard. The repaving of the road will be required in the next few years if Snug Cove is not re-developed and will cost upward of $1.5 million. And somehow, that money needs to be found.

Hilsen said, "If we're not keeping up with [the roads], it will come back to us."