Highway Costs in
Newfoundland and Labrador

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Highway construction and maintenance is a large part of the provincial budget. Everyone wants divided four lane highways and paved secondary roads - paying for it is another matter entirely.

Annual road budgets have been running approximately $150 million a year. According to Statistics Canada there are 184,325 wage earners in the province. Therefore, road construction is costing $800/year per wage earner, and that doesn't include snow clearing, sand and salt.

In 2012, $108 million was awarded for highway construction and $38 million of this was for two projects in Labrador. These two road sections cost $38M/158 km = $240,000 per kilometer.

It is worth browsing the last three years of road contracts to get a feel for the relative costs of projects.

Construction of a new vertical lift bridge and road approaches to replace the Sir Ambrose Shea lift bridge on Route 100, km. 44.98, and the removal of the existing bridge 25/02/2013 $40,649,892.80
Supply & Install effluent pumping station, Newtown Sewer separation, Town of Channel - Port Aux Basques 18/02/2013 $43,500.00
EMERGENCY replacement of a 9 meter span bridge superstructure, Fairhaven Bridge - South, R230, km 14.5 23/01/2013 $71,553.00
Construction of a new two lane, 30 meter, single span, prestressed concrete girder bridge over Little Barachois Brook, km 765.0, R1 21/12/2012 $3,831,792.51
Replacement of Outer Cove Brook concrete box culvert on route 30 at km 2.5 07/12/2012 $881,685.00
Winter Maintenance Services on Change Islands, Newfoundland and Labrador 22/11/2012 $211,919.73
Construction of a new two lane, 66.2 m, two span, prestressed concrete girder underpass on Scott's Road over Route 2 at km 19.9 19/11/2012 $2,922,600.00
Removal & replacement of existing damaged & missing fenders at Portugal Cove & Bell Island Ferry Terminal wharfs 05/11/2012 $217,500.00
Clearing various sections of right-of-way on R1 TCH from Gander towards Gambo 05/11/2012 $159,200.00
Clearing various sections of right-of-way on R100, Argentia Access Road from Dunville to Argentia & from Ship Cove to Branch 05/11/2012 $68,214.88
Clearing various sections of right-of-way on the TCH, from Badger towards Gull Bridge 05/11/2012 $66,875.00
Clearing various sections of right-of-way on the TCH from Deer Lake to Howley 05/11/2012 $55,875.00
Clearing various sections of right-of-way on the TCH between R360 intersection to Bay D'Espoir & the Interchange to Bishop Falls & Botwood 05/11/2012 $47,000.00
Construction of a 21.3 meter single lane panel bridge and associated road work in the community of Bellburns, Route 430-26 02/11/2012 $228,936.00
Winter Maintenance Services on the Clarenville Airstrip and Access Road, Newfoundland and Labrador 25/10/2012 $32,323.00
Winter Maintenance Services at Harbour Mille, Fortune Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador 22/10/2012 $51,200.00
Resurfacing Route 235 at Jiggin Head and Route 233 at Bloomfield. Rehabilitation of Route 235-30 at Spillar's Cove. Asphalt repairs at Lethbridge and drainage improvements at Musgravetown 16/10/2012 $1,029,715.00
Mechanical and Electrical repairs to the Sir Ambrose Shea Lift Bridge, R100, Placentia 11/10/2012 $885,701.00
Construction of a 1.0 meter high concrete copewall on the Long Island Ferry Terminal Wharf 11/10/2012 $360,125.00
Rehabilitation of approximately 2.85 km of Route 201 through Long Cove towards Thornlea, NL 10/10/2012 $364,175.00
Rehabilitation of Airstrip & stockpiling maintenance granular, Hopedale, Labrador, NL 01/10/2012 $662,406.20
Rehabilitation of the Exploits River Bridge behind the former paper mill site at Grand Falls - Windsor 07/09/2012 $460,630.00
Replace Culverts on The Trans Canada Highway at km 741.42 near Whites Road Interchange; at km 844.28 near Coal Brook; and on interchange ramp from R460 at Stephenville 30/08/2012 $122,190.00
Construction of a 42.7 meter single lane panel bridge on concrete abutments at Butlers Pit Road over the Conception Bay South Bypass & associated road work 24/08/2012 $766,175.00
Repairs to a multiplate culvert at Rattle Brook on R215. Repairs to culvert on R220, km 42.4, on Lawn River. Repairs to Allan's Island Causeway on R220-19, near Lamaline 24/08/2012 $303,180.00
Drainage improvements at various locations on the Burin Peninsula. Repairs to roads for the Town of Lawn 24/08/2012 $570,903.51
Pulverize & pave a 0.6 km section R480, Burgeo Road; a 1 km section of Joe McGinnis Road off R405 near St. David's; & 12 sections of R403, Flat Bay Road, for a distance of 2.5km 23/08/2012 $637,464.00
Paving & associated subgrade on the Conception Bay South Bypass Road from Legion Road Interchange towards Seal Cove, km 14.6 to km 20.1 23/08/2012 $4,407,509.15
Wharf rehabilitation work at Nain & Makkovik, Labrador 17/08/2012 $413,700.00
Maintenance of Natuashish Airstrip, Labrador 15/08/2012 $176,730.00
Undermining repair work, Ferry Terminal Wharf, St. Barbe 15/08/2012 $87,296.00
Upg & paving 2 km of R70, between Salmon Cove & Perry's Cove & two sections on R72 Bareneed Rd. Paving approx. 0.4 km of R70-17, Crane's Road. Culvert replace on R70-30 in Freshwater & on R70-26 near Bristol's Hope 13/08/2012 $1,041,764.00
Cold plane & repave app. 22.45 lane kms of the TCH between the Holyrood Access & Whitbourne & app. 6.65 lane kms of R75 between Bay Roberts & Carbonear. Various sign installations along the TCH between Foxtrap & Whitbourne 13/08/2012 $1,882,304.70
Pulverize & repave approx. 1.7 kms of R100 between Cuslett & St. Brides. Leveling two sections of R100 at Gooseberry Cove, & a 1.5 km section at Branch, as well as 1 km of R91 at Southeast Placentia 13/08/2012 $865,539.00
Pulverize & repave 1.7km of R10 between Cappahayden & Chance Cove Park. Asphalt repairs to bridge approaches & decks at Cochrane Pond Brook Bridge, Lester's Field underpass on R3 & Mobile River Bridge on R10 13/08/2012 $579,228.00
Bolt tight & replace on the St. Lewis River bridge, Bolt tight & replace on the Alexis River bridge. Substructure repairs to Beaver Br Bridge. Sup & install of a new timber raceway & curbs for panel bridge over St. Mary's River 10/08/2012 $289,600.00
Rehabilitate 1.5 km of R320 at two locations between Green’s Pond Intersection & Valleyfield Intersection; 1.5 km of R346, Too Good Arm Road; & 1.1 km, R340-46 Bayview Road. Modifications to Farewell ferry terminal parking area 09/08/2012 $1,654,710.00
Supply & place maintenance grade No. 1 granular on R510 at various locations between the Transportation Equipment Shelter & St. Lewis Inlet between km 138 & km 193 09/08/2012 $425,418.00
Rehab. of Big Barachois Brook Bridge, R92, km 19.4. Rehab of Little Barachois Brook Bridge, R92, km 30.0. Rehab. of Red Head River Bridge, R92, km. 40.7 - Part "D" Rehabilitation of Beckford River Bridge, R92, km 47.5 27/07/2012 $694,470.00
Pulverize & repave approx. 2.6 km of R60-35, Long Pond Road at Marysvale. Culvert rehabilitation on R60, km 50.08 at Three Island Pond Brook near Marysvale; & on the TCH, km 22.35 & 22.6 near the Paddy's Pond Interchange 27/07/2012 $460,148.00
Part A: rehabilitation of Indian Arm Brook Bridge, (west Structure) Campellton, R340, km 25.62 Part B: Expansion joint replacement on Sir Robert Bond Bridge, Route 1, km 408.2 26/07/2012 $272,155.00
Rehabilitate R350 at three locations between Pt Leamington & Leading Tickles. Pulverize & pave R3-1-09 Norris Arm North. Cold plane & repave var sections of TCH between Sir Robert Bond Bridge & divided highway, Grand Falls Windsor 26/07/2012 $1,741,372.00
Wharf rehabilitation work at Rigolet & Black Tickle, Labrador 23/07/2012 $91,289.75
Wharf rehabilitation work at Hopedale & Postville, Labrador 23/07/2012 $57,445.21
Rehabilitate, pulverize & pave sections of R204 between Long Beach & Butter Cove, total distance of approx. 2.9 km. Realignment of intersection of Routes 2-1-03 & 2-1-05, Arnold's Cove & Refinery Road 20/07/2012 $1,196,056.00
Rehabilitation of 2.3 km of R390 from the TCH to Indian Brook Bridge & 1.5 km of R381 Port Anson Road 20/07/2012 $1,135,891.50
Rehabilitating & hydroseeding road slopes on areas of the TLH, R500, Happy Valley Goose Bay toward East Wilson River & R510, Cartwright Junction toward Happy Valley-Goose Bay 20/07/2012 $391,679.75
Cold plane and repave 8.7 lane kilometres of the Outer Ring Road from Torbay Road to Kenmount Road, 10.15 lane kilometres of the TCH between Route 2 Interchange and Foxtrap and 6.8 lane kilometres Route 2, from Kilbride to Fowlers Road 20/07/2012 $2,189,805.20
Site preparation work and salt storage facility foundation installation at the Bellevue Highway Maintenance Depot 10/07/2012 $350,195.00
Supply & application of various herbicide treatments in highway right-of-way areas of Newfoundland and Labrador 06/07/2012 $429,562.50
Asphalt repairs on the TCH from Whitbourne to the Trailside Motel;Cold plane & repave sections of the TCH from Trailside Motel to Port Blandford, Pulverize & pave sections of Long Harbour Road 04/07/2012 $1,435,185.00
Drainage improvements, various locations Eastern Region. Route 001, Route 2-1-09, Route 204, Route 205, Route 230A, Route 230-15, Route 230-21, Route 231, Route 232, Route 239 & side roads 28/06/2012 $1,384,160.00
Rehabilitation of Paquet Brook Bridge, Woodstock, R417-10, km 0.6 27/06/2012 $225,000.00
Part A: Construction of a new three lane, 24 meter prestressed concrete girder bridge over Corner Brook Stream, R1, km 695.8 Part B: Rehabilitation of Corner Brook Ring Road Overpass, R450, km 0 22/06/2012 $1,615,454.96
Expansion joint replacement on Black Brook Bridge, R1, km 167.9 22/06/2012 $77,500.00
Site preparation work and salt storage foundation installation at the Milltown Highway Maintenance Depot 22/06/2012 $495,950.00
Rehabilitation of Main Gut Bridge, km 5.3, R490, Stephenville 18/06/2012 $1,015,760.00
Rehabilitation of the TCH from 1.85 km west of Route 450 Overpass at Corner Brook, towards Port Aux Basques, for approx 9.3 km 15/06/2012 $4,334,521.00
Cold plane & repave the east & west bound lanes of the TCH from km 658 Pynns Brook Weigh Scales to km 687 near Corner Brook for approx. 29 km 15/06/2012 $4,284,943.00
Construction of a two lane, single span, 44 meter, prestressed concrete girder bridge supported on mechanically stabilized earth retaining walls over Lower Gullies Brook, km. 19.5, R2 30/05/2012 $5,130,263.20
Paving of the Trans Labrador Highway from km 172.5 to km 248.5, Goose Bay towards Churchill Falls, Labrador 23/05/2012 $19,099,960.95
Paving of the Trans Labrador Highway between km 196 and km 278, Wabush Junction towards Churchill Falls, Labrador 23/05/2012 $18,749,983.05
Electrical & Mechanical Maintenance of the Sir Ambrose Shea Lift Bridge, Placentia 15/05/2012 $42,587.50
Structural steel repairs on the Sir Ambrose Shea Lift Bridge, R100, Placentia 07/05/2012 $1,662,950.00
Construction of a two lane, 75 meter single span, steel box girder bridge over Terra Nova River, R1, km. 270 24/04/2012 $5,456,381.00
Supply of electrical labour for the maintenance of street lighting, installation of traffic control devices and traffic monitoring equipment throughout 26/03/2012 $67,685.00
Construction of a temporary bypass to facilitate replacement of Sandy Lake Bridge, R401, Howley Access Road 22/03/2012 $2,026,040.00
Upgrade and place MG III granualrs on the Loop Rd in Dunville, R100-10, from km 0 to km 7.1 and on R91 from km 39.7 to km 42 20/03/2012 $754,783.00
Clearing various sections on the Right-of-Way of Route 10, Southern Shore Highway, from Cappahayden towards Chance Cove 15/02/2012 $30,700.00
Construction of a two lane, two span, 76 meter prestressed concrete girder bridge and approaches at Robinson's River, Route 1, km 800 25/01/2012 $4,663,749.00
Brush clearing at the Central Newfoundland Airstrip near Botwood 19/01/2012 $34,000.00
Brush clearing at the Fogo Island airstrip 19/01/2012 $50,000.00
Brush clearing at the Clarenville & Winterland Airstrips 19/01/2012 $57,000.00
Rehabilitation & diving work at Ramea & Burgeo Ferry Terminal Wharfs 12/01/2012 $66,700.00
$108,532,911.25
Grading of Team Gushue Highway from Kenmount Road towards Brookfield Road & associated connecting roads, St. John's 23/12/2011 $13,151,880.00
Emergency repairs to fendering at the Pilley's Island and Long Island Ferry Terminal Wharfs. 21/12/2011 $31,095.96
Reline culverts at the Interchange between the Trans Canada Highway and and Route 2, Pitts Memorial Drive and Conception Bay South Bypass 25/11/2011 $254,334.00
Construction of a new, single lane, 153 meter truss bridge over the Codroy River at Searston Gut, R407 18/11/2011 $4,383,755.00
Rip Rap and Scour Repairs on Bridges on the Burin Peninsula 16/11/2011 $245,520.00
Rip Rap and Scour Repairs on the Bonavista Peninsula 16/11/2011 $164,700.00
Guide Rail Installation on Route 2-1-03, Arnolds Cove Road 16/11/2011 $36,390.00
Stabilization and repair of erosion on a tributary of Gambo Brook near Joey's Lookout 14/11/2011 $242,630.00
Resurfacing and drainage improvements to 0.9km section of R70-19 Thicket Rd. resurface a 0.4km section of R72 to Breneed and a 1.2km section of R70-17 in Upper Island Cove 10/11/2011 $458,638.00
Supply and placement of Rubber Tire Fender Units at the St. Barbe Ferry Terminal Wharf 09/11/2011 $33,300.00
Construction of a 15.25 meter timber crib extension to the Provincial ferry terminal wharf at Pilley's Island 07/11/2011 $249,812.50
Emergency repairs to aluminum handrail on Black River Bridge, R1, km 167.85 03/11/2011 $45,875.00
Crack sealing on Dept. roads in the Central & Western Regions 28/10/2011 $254,690.85
Emergency culvert replacement, R210, km16.1 near Garden Cove due to Tropical Storm, Ophelia 17/10/2011 $59,830.00
Replacement of culverts & repairs to Argentia Access Road, R100, Long Harbour Road, Fox Harbour Road, Old Placentia Highway & various other locations as a result damages by Hurricane Igor 07/10/2011 $1,262,895.44
rehabilitation of Gaultois Ferry terminal Wharf 07/10/2011 $57,100.00
Replacement of aluminum box culvert on R234-14-1, Winter Brook 23/09/2011 $320,915.00
Rehabilitation & improvement work at Francois & Bay L'Argent Ferry Terminal Wharfs 21/09/2011 $84,750.00
Tree & vegetation removal at the former Rambler, Whalesback & Gullbridge mine sites 20/09/2011 $36,725.66
Construction of a two lane, single span, 15.25 meter prestressed girder bridge at Plate Cove West, Route 235, km 48.7 19/09/2011 $2,845,700.00
Site prep work & salt storage facility found install at the Deer Lake hwy maint depot. Design, supply & install of overhead sign structure near the Route 1, TCH, and R430, Northern Pen Hwy, Interchange 16/09/2011 $571,435.00
Construction of bridge diversion for Robinsons River bridge replacement on the TCH km 800 16/09/2011 $670,305.00
Slope Stabilization on Route 220, km 16.8, near Epworth Intersection.  Supply and Place Maintenance Grade I on Route 214 at Monkstown. Culvert Installation at Route 214, km 7.8, Monkstown Road 16/09/2011 $193,820.00
Diving Inspection of Main Gut Bridge, R461, km. 8.92 14/09/2011 $6,995.00
Construction of a 15.2 meter, single lane panel bridge on timber crib abutments on Church Road in the community of Brownsdale and undermining repairs to New Melbourne box culvert, km.88..0, R80 12/09/2011 $346,302.00
Removal and salvage of a 152.5 meter, single lane, panel bridge over the Codroy River at Searston Gut, R407 12/09/2011 $229,000.00
Clearing various sections of Right-of-Way on Route 360 Bay D'Espoir Highway 08/09/2011 $163,606.00
Supply and installation of rubber fendering at Suley Ann's Cove Ferry Terminal Wharf, Little Bay Islands 07/09/2011 $135,000.00
Replacement of a section of culvert on the TCH 0.4 km west of Wreckhouse parking lot 07/09/2011 $127,482.00
Replacement of Little Barasway Brook Bridge on Route 210 km 186.1, near Molliers 01/09/2011 $475,978.00
Part "A": Rehabilitation of the C.N. Viaduc, R2, km 1.0. Part "B": Expansion joint replacement on Blackhead Road Overpass R2, km. 1.7, St. John's 30/08/2011 $510,600.00
Upgrading R81, Markland Rd. Supply & Installation of a 66m 3360mm Structural Plate Corrugated Steel Pipe at Halfway Brook on Route 100 between Little Barasway and Great Barasway 26/08/2011 $2,027,185.00
Pulv & pave R432; resurf R434, Conche Rd; Pulv & pave Castor River North & South Rd; Pulv & pave Bartletts Harbour Rd from Bartletts Harbour towards R430 26/08/2011 $2,619,109.25
082-11PMO - Supply & application of various herbicide treatments in highway right-of-way areas of Newfoundland and Labrador 24/08/2011 $293,950.00
Upgrade & repave Grates Cove Road, Hearts Content Barrens, R70 between Perry's Cove & Salmon Cove & R70 between Burnt Point & Gull Island. Culvert installations at Halfway Brook, R80, Winterton & Back Road, Grates Cove 24/08/2011 $2,376,229.00
Upgrade & repave approx. 0.8 km of R40-15, Bauline Line Extension, 2.2 km of R41, Beachy Cove Road, 1.7 km of R21, Bauline Line & 0.2 km of R20-17, Windgap Road. Upgrade & repave local roads Bell Island 23/08/2011 $2,983,399.56
Maintenance of Natuashish Airstrip and related facilities 22/08/2011 $191,000.00
Construction of Wildlife Fence on Highway Right of Ways in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador 19/08/2011 $1,443,887.20
Milling & paving R1Riverside Dr to Lewin Parkway Underpass. Paving R440 North Shore of the Bay of Islands. Pulv & pave R440 McIvers towards Cox's Cove and R450, South shore Bay of Islands, and other work 17/08/2011 $3,564,228.11
Site preparation work and Salt Storage foundation facility installation at the Badger Highway Maintenance Depot 15/08/2011 $298,245.00
Paving Route 102, Ship Harbour Rd from Fox Harbour to Ship Harbour 15/08/2011 $1,223,944.25
Clearing various sections of Right of Way on Route 90, from TCH to Peters River 10/08/2011 $151,000.00
Cold plane and resurface sections of Outer Ring Rd, CBS Bypass & R60. Cold plane, level and repave R20 between Marine Dr & Lower Rd. Asphalt repairs to various bridge decks on the Outer Ring Rd and Torbay Rd. 08/08/2011 $2,139,325.50
Replacement of Shoal Brook Bridge with concrete arch on Route 431 at Shoal Brook 08/08/2011 $1,474,558.51
Upgr & paving R233-13 in Port Blandford; R301. Pulv & repaving R310 in Traytown. Resurface R2-1-24 in Charlottetown. Repairs at R2-1-25, various sections R301, R310 & R310-41. Supply & Install storm sewer at Eastport Main Depot 08/08/2011 $2,388,500.00
Cold plane & resurf R70 Gaddens Marsh to Victoria; & sections of R70 between Line Road interchange & Gaddens Marsh. Upgr & repave R70-30-1, Clowns Cove Road; R70 near Tilton. Upgrad of R70-27-1, Beach Road, in Bristol's Hope 08/08/2011 $1,298,213.00
Supply & Installation of Wildlife Detection and Warning Systems on Highway Right of Way in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador 05/08/2011 $1,464,161.00
Upgr & resurface R220-19 & 20, Baine Hr. Upgr & pave 210-26-3 & 4, Spanish Rm. Resurface R221, Burin. Pulv & repave R220, Point May. Pave St.Josephs school parking lot, Terrenceville and other work 02/08/2011 $2,474,190.00
Hurricane Igor repairs to TCH from Chapel Arm to Goobies; R201 Chapel Arm to Chance Cove, R202-10 in Long Harbour; to R203 in Fair Haven; and to R210 Burin Pen Hwy Goobies to Swift Current. Other associated work. 02/08/2011 $2,082,046.00
Paving realigned section of R510 between the Pinware River Bridge towards the Town of Red Bay for a distance of appr 8.3km 01/08/2011 $3,965,991.00
Instal of a steel pipe arch and assoc work on R230-14,Charleston. Instal of a structural plate arch on R235-16, Plate Cove East. Grading and Instal of two corrugated steel box culverts on R235-29, Birchy Cove. 01/08/2011 $681,610.00
Clearing various sections of Right of Way on Route 1 TCH, from Birchy Narrows towards Howley Intersection 01/08/2011 $84,200.00
Clearing various sections of Right of Way on Route 1 TCH, from North Branch River Bridge to MacDougal's Brook Bridge 01/08/2011 $166,000.00
062-11PHM - Clearing various sections of Right of Way on Route 1 TCH, from Foxtrap Interchange to Whitbourne 29/07/2011 $110,700.00
Clearing various sections of Right of Way on Route 100, Argentia Access Road, between the intersection of Route 101 to Long Harbour and Placentia and from Ship Cove to Branch 29/07/2011 $73,800.00
Clearing various sections of Right of Way on Route 73, New Harbour Rd, and on Route 75, CBN Bypass Rd, from North River towards Harbour Grace 29/07/2011 $61,500.00
Clearing various sections of Right of Way on Route 1, TCH, from Northwest Brook to Hillview and on Route 230, Bonavista Peninsula Highway, from Lethbridge to Rattle Falls 29/07/2011 $314,199.92
Clearing various sections of Right of Way on R1, TCH from Scott Avenue, Grand Falls-Windsor to Red Cliff Overpass 29/07/2011 $35,235.00
Clearing various sections of Right of Way on Route 330, Gander Bay Road, from Island Pond Brook towards Gander Bay, Main Point towards Ladle Cove Road, and from Anchor Brook towards Lumsden 29/07/2011 $155,000.00
Paving various locations on Twillingate Island, New World Island and 3.1 km of Route 343, Comfort Cove Rd 27/07/2011 $3,509,264.15
Installation of an Aluminum Box Culvert at Little Heart's Ease on R204 km 22.2. Installation of a structural plate arch at hodges Cove on R204, km 17.5 27/07/2011 $865,002.50
Replacement of Cape Roger River multiplate pipe structure on R215 Petite Forte Road 27/07/2011 $683,000.00
Pulverize & Pave 1.3 km, R350 Northern Arm towards Point Leamington & various other work 15/07/2011 $5,813,180.35
Pulv & pave, Gander Bay Rd and Greenspond Rd. Asphalt levelling of Carmanville South Rd; & Frederickton Rd. Asphalt patching various locations damaged by Hurrican Igor 15/07/2011 $2,632,912.00
Pulv & pave R414, LaScie Hwy. Recap R410, Fleur de Lys Rd, R390 Springdale Rd, R392 Little Bay Rd and various sections of R392 & 392-13 and other areas on Baie Verte Pen. Supply & Install Pedestrian Underpass Pipe R390 Springdale 15/07/2011 $2,409,973.83
Site preparation work and salt storage facility foundation installation at the Clarenville Highway Maintenance Depot 14/07/2011 $501,935.00
Upgrade & pave R13, Witless Bay Line, for approx 3km. Paving local roads in Tors Cove and Cape Broyle for approx 2.4km 14/07/2011 $1,260,650.00
Upgrade & repave approximately 2.1 km of Route 60, km 58.8 to km 60.9, Colliers to Georgetown 14/07/2011 $1,427,260.00
Supply and Installation of Rubber Fendering at Burnside and St. Brendans Ferry terminal Wharfs 14/07/2011 $199,261.48
Road repairs to areas damaged by Hurricane Igor in the Eastern Region of the Province 13/07/2011 $4,387,125.00
Part A: Rehab of South Brook Bridge, Pasadena. Part B: Expans joint repl, Steady Brook Bridge, westbound lane.Part C: Expan joint repl River Side Dr Underpass Part D: Rehab of Ballam Bridge 13/07/2011 $391,614.00
Repairs to various routes on Bonavista Peninsula. Upgr and repaving R230-14 at Sweet Bay and Melrose. Upgr and resurfacing R230-26, R230-24 local Rd, and R235-16 . Rd improvs on R239, in Trouty. Recap R230-15 at Trinity East 13/07/2011 $5,008,040.00
Remove & replace existing pipe culvert with two 3730 mm span 2290 mm rise pipe arches on Route 480, Burgeo Highway, near Top Pond approx km 141 08/07/2011 $241,845.00
Remove debris from Come by Chance River Bridge inlet area on the TCH on R210. Design supply & install Aluminum Box Culvert at North Harbour. Replace culverts at Swift Current on R210. 08/07/2011 $536,115.00
Pulverizing and paving approximately 1.2 km of R460 from Romaines River towards Mainland; and approximately 4.0 km of R462 from Fox Island River towards R460. Recap two sections of R463 in picadilly for approximately 2.2 km 07/07/2011 $1,269,228.41
Pul & pave R420, Sops Arm Rd, from km 34.1 to km 38.1, 4 sections of R421 from the Intersection to R420 towards Hampden for approx 1.56km, and 3 sections of R421 from Hampden Wharf towards the Beaches for approx 1.02km 07/07/2011 $1,678,568.50
Supply and place Maintenance Grade #1 granular on R510, Trans Labrador Highway, at various locations between Chateau Pond Depot and Lodge Bay. 07/07/2011 $466,050.00
Pulv & pave 2.3 km of Buchans Rd, R370; 1.8 km of Millertown Rd, R370-11; 1.5 km of Port Anson Rd, R381; and 0.8 km Wharf Rd South Brook, R381. Recap various sections of R380-16 Brighton rd 06/07/2011 $2,004,478.05
Construction of a two lane, single span, 20 meter prestressed concrete girder bridge and approaches at Rattle Brook, R210, km 101.88 29/06/2011 $2,137,455.70
Rehabilitation of Southwest Arm Bridge on Route 210, km 151.1 and Famine Brook Bridge on Route 210 km 184.9 29/06/2011 $548,100.00
Construction of end treatments on culverts affected by Hurricane Igor at Charlottetown, Lockston, Port Rexton, Hodderville and Amherst Cove. 29/06/2011 $653,100.00
Installation of a 7450 mm x 2720 mm Aluminum Box Culvert on Route 205 km 1.4 at hillview and Installation  of a 2000 mm Culvet on Route 205 km 16.7 at St. Jones Within 29/06/2011 $244,757.50
Upgrading of the Trans Canada Highway (Route 1) from the Massey Drive Overpass to Lady Slipper Road, km 689.5 to km 695 28/06/2011 $5,142,590.30
Replacement of a structural plate pipe on R231 at km 25.6 in Hickman's Harbour. Replacement of a timber bridge on R231-10 at km 5.6 in Aspey Brook 28/06/2011 $342,660.00
Summer and Winter Maintenance on approximately 271 km of Roads and Bridges from the Quebec Border in Western Labrador to Churchill Falls including the weigh scale site at km 22 on Route 500. 13/06/2011 $8,800,500.00
Summer and Winter Maintenance on approximately 345 km of Roads and Bridges from Northwest River to Churchill Falls, Labrador including Mud Lake Road. 13/06/2011 $9,581,250.00
Replacement of Culvert at km 21.7 on Route 450 in Frenchman's Cove. 06/06/2011 $82,745.00
Part A; Expansion joint replacement and deck resurfacing on the Upper Humber River Bridge, R430, km 0.65. Part B: Resurfacing curbs and handrail replacement on Rocky River Bridge, Reidville, R430-12, km 1.21 30/05/2011 $559,500.00
Upgrading and paving approx. 26.6 kms of the Trans Canada Highway between Baie Verte Junction and Birchy Lake Lookout km 538.6 to km 565.2. 20/05/2011 $6,702,561.80
Construction of 24.4 meter single lane panel bridge on timber crib abutments at North Harbour River on Old Mill Road, Goobies 06/05/2011 $321,561.00
Construct approaches for replacement of the E.S. Spencer Bridge on the Trans Canada Highway, km 270 over the Terra Nova River 29/04/2011 $918,706.00
Electrical and Mechanical maintenance of Sir Ambrose Shea Lift Bridge, Placentia 29/04/2011 $48,910.00
Construction of a two lane, three span prestressed concrete overpass on the Team Gushue Highway extension over the existing Kenmount Rd, St. John's, NL 26/04/2011 $1,602,810.00
Armor repairs to T'Railway at Indian Pond and Seal Cove Bridges near Holyrood, Newfoundland 15/04/2011 $105,145.00
Installation of signs along the Discovery Trail on the Bonavista Peninsula, Routes 230, 235 and 239 and on the TCH between Deep Bight and Clarenville 12/04/2011 $75,080.00
Paving of the Trans Labrador Highway using Hot Mix Asphalt from km 92 to km 172, Goose Bay towards Churchill Falls, Labrador. 04/04/2011 $20,863,424.10
Paving of the Trans Labrador Highway using Hot Mix Asphalt from km 116 to km 196, Wabush Junction towards Churchill Falls, Labrador. 01/04/2011 $19,059,190.86
Scour repair on Aluminum Box Culvert and Footings at Hickman's Harbour Random Island on Route 231-16-1 km 0.1 29/03/2011 $94,250.00
Repair damage to Walter B Elliott Causeway on R340 km 91.5 09/03/2011 $105,525.00
Removal & Salvage of a 18.3 meter, extra wide, single lane panel bridge located on a temporary bypass at km 69.3 of R230 and the supply of 490 single lane treated timber chesses. 25/02/2011 $95,279.32
Design & Installation of a one lane, 33.55m single span steel modular panel bridge over Barachois River in John T Cheeseman Provincial Park 15/02/2011 $223,625.60
$177,386,698.16
Clearing of the Right of Way for the Trans Canada Highway (Route 1) from the Massey Drive Overpass to Lady Slipper Road. 16/12/2010 $25,222.00
Clearing Right of Way on various sections of Route 100 between Point Verde and Cuslette 10/12/2010 $51,398.32
Clearing various sections of the Right of Way on R10, Southern Shore Highway, between Aquaforte and Fermuse, from km 73.8 to km 81 approximately. 10/12/2010 $40,000.00
Rehabilitation work at Farewell and Fogo Island Ferry Terminal Wharfs. 10/12/2010 $192,700.00
Rip Rap and Scour Repairs to Eight Bridges located in Trinity North and on the Burin Peninsula. 26/11/2010 $190,500.00
Clearing the Right of Way on the Trans Canada Highway between Springdale and Birchy Narrows 19/11/2010 $119,450.00
Rip Rap & Scour repairs of seven bridges on Burin Peninsula & the demolition & removal of an abandoned bridge over Red Harbour River upstream from R210 19/11/2010 $325,200.00
Installation of sign posts and signs for the Viking Trail, Route 430, in the area of theTCH to Gros Morne National Park. 17/11/2010 $35,970.00
Replace existing multi plate arch with a steel box culvert on Southeast Brook at Brooklyn, R234 17/11/2010 $528,297.00
Diving Inspection of Sir Ambrose Shea Lift Bridge, Placentia, R100, km 45.0. 16/11/2010 $7,200.00
Rip Rap and scour repairs to Come by Chance, Black Brook, Lower Shoal Harbour River, Dark Hole River and Southwest River Bridges on Route 1. 15/11/2010 $168,500.00
Install 9000mm x 4467mm Structural Plate Arch R239 Trouty km 9.4, Salvage and Reinstall Pipe Culvert R239, Trinity km 3,  & Supply & Install Pipe Culvert, R239 Goose Cove km 4.3 12/11/2010 $2,085,940.00
Clearing various sections of the Right of Way on Route 1, TCH, from Paddy's Pond to Holyrood and on Route 75 from the TCH towards Spaniards Bay 12/11/2010 $105,070.01
Clearing the Right of Way for the Team Gushue Highway Extension from Kenmount Road towards Brookfield Road 12/11/2010 $276,000.00
Installation of two (2) 3600mm Culverts with Inlet Barrier Wall at L'Anse au Loup, R210 km 191.3 12/11/2010 $342,680.00
Construction of a two lane, single span, 46 meter prestressed concrete girder bridge at Fischell's River, R1, km 788 09/11/2010 $3,327,894.00
Replacement of an Aluminum Pipe Arch on Route 2-1-25, Charlottetown, and associated road work. 09/11/2010 $393,855.00
Part A: Handrail replacement and associated work on Baldwin Brook Bridge, R91, km 45.5. Part B: Undermining repairs to St. Bride's River Bridge, R100, km 92.7. 04/11/2010 $233,200.00
Emergency - Storm damage repairs to the TCH from Whitbourne to Southwest River. 04/11/2010 $260,854.00
Culvert replacements and road improvements at various locations on Bell Island. 03/11/2010 $417,160.00
Emergency - Part 1: Storm damage repairs R232 from Georges Brook to Burgoynes Cove. Part 2: Storm damage repairs to R233 from Port Blandford to Musgravetown. Repairs to storm sewer in King's Cove on R235-21. 03/11/2010 $1,176,330.00
Emergency - Diving Inspection of eight bridges located on the Burin and Bonavista Peninsulas 03/11/2010 $18,400.00
Construction of a two-lane, 27.432 meter single span type panel bridge and temporary bypass at Rattle Brook Route 210, km 101.88. 02/11/2010 $614,900.00
Clearing various sections of the Right of Way on Route 1, TCH, from the Burgeo Road Intersection towards the Interchange to Route 490 to Stephenville 01/11/2010 $79,071.50
Clearing various sections of the Right of Way on Route 360, Bay D'Espoir Highway, from km 20.2 to km 34 01/11/2010 $55,450.00
Emergency - Culvert repairs and replacements in the New Melbourne, Daniels Cove, Red Head Cove, Low Point and Adams Cove areas due to damages from Hurricane Igor. 01/11/2010 $574,780.00
Part A: Construct of a new four lane single span bridge with prestressed concrete girders, and mech stabilized earth retaining walls on Topsail Rd. Part B: Interchange and bridge approach improvements at Topsail and Kenmount Rds. 29/10/2010 $5,605,170.00
Clearing various sections of the Right of Way on Route 1, TCH, from Goobies to Port Blandford. 29/10/2010 $139,501.00
Clearing various sections of the Right of Way on Route 1, TCH, from Norris Arm North intersection towards Norris Arm. 29/10/2010 $37,000.00
Emergency repairs at various locations on the Burin Peninsula 29/10/2010 $273,600.00
Emergency guide rail repairs, Burin Peninsula 29/10/2010 $265,740.00
Washout repair and culvert re-installation, Lane's Brook on the Newfoundland T'Railway near St. Jude's, NL 27/10/2010 $21,115.00
EMERGENCY - Storm damage repairs to Route 230-21 & 230-22 in English Harbour on the Bonavista Peninsula. 27/10/2010 $137,800.00
EMERGENCY - Repair to damaged areas caused by Hurricane Igor: TCH @ Joeys Lookoutnear Gambo; TCH east of Cooper Blvd, Gander; TCH Middle Brook Bridge , Square Pond; R320, Gambo; & TCH near Joeys Lookout 25/10/2010 $375,120.00
Scour repairs to Barbour Bridge R210, km44.35 21/10/2010 $174,000.00
Storm damage repairs on the Bonavista Peninsula, including Little Catalina, Elliston, Maberly, Bonavista and Spillars Cove. 20/10/2010 $397,210.00
Storm damage repairs on Route 204 in the Southwest Arm area from the intersection with the TCH towards Little Hearts Ease. 20/10/2010 $285,830.00
Removal of a 21.35 meter extra wide single lane panel bridge at Long Pond Bridge Route 210 km 45.9 20/10/2010 $43,800.00
Emergency repairs to roads on Random Island from damage resulting from Hurricane Igor. 18/10/2010 $701,380.00
Hurricane Igor repairs. Gambo, New Wes Valley, Ladle Cove, Deadman's Bay, Newtown, Greenspond, Dover, Gambo, etc 15/10/2010 $2,272,645.00
Replacement of culvert on Route 363, Coomb's Cove Road, at km 11.1 near Boxey Intersection. 14/10/2010 $92,765.00
Paving of the Torbay Bypass Road from RCAF Road to its intersection with the Pouch cove Highway near Picco's Brook. 04/10/2010 $4,799,105.85
Site maintenance work & salt storage facility foundation installation at the St.Joseph's maintenance depot. 04/10/2010 $307,575.00
Scour repairs to Long Pond Bridge, R#210, km 45.88 & scour repairs to Sandy Hr. Bridge, R210, km 48.91 04/10/2010 $169,910.00
Repaving various sections of Route 70 in Carbonear; Route 80 -10 at Old Shop; and sections of Cove Road and Parsons Road in Bryant's Cove. Replacement of Storm Sewer at Route 100-16 at Freshwater. 30/09/2010 $1,699,003.50
Grading of the Conception Bay South Bypass Road from Legion Road Interchange to Seal Cove. 27/09/2010 $9,862,616.50
Crack Sealing on Department Roads in the Avalon & Eastern Regions, NL 24/09/2010 $255,584.90
Supply & place Maintenance Grade #1 granulars on Route 510 at various locations between Chateau Pond Maintenance Depot and Port Hope Simpson, Labrador. 24/09/2010 $585,000.00
Part "A": Handrail Replacement and associated work on St.Charles River Bridge, (Lodge Bay), Route 510, km 161. Part "B": Cleat block and street light repair St.Barbe Ferry Terminal Wharf. 16/09/2010 $201,776.00
Upgrading Route 500, Trans Labrador Highway, from Labrador West near Valley River to Churchill Falls Airport Access for approximately 40 kms. 08/09/2010 $11,016,425.00
Realignment of Route 510 between the Pinware River Bridge and Country Cat Pond for approximately 8km. 08/09/2010 $6,165,500.00
CNA, Seal Cove Campus - Site Drainage Trench 03/09/2010 $131,525.00
Upgrading Route 500, Trans Labrador Highway, from Happy Valley - Goose Bay towards Churchill Falls, East Metchin River to Rapids Brook, approximately km 228.5 to km 278.5. 02/09/2010 $9,352,400.00
Upgr & paving R235 Newman's Cove towards Knight's Cove. Cold planing & repaving from Bloomfield to Cannings Cove, Southern Hr, Goobies, Champney's East. Culv replace & repairs in Stock Cove & Lethbridge. Guide rail repairs on TCH. 02/09/2010 $4,174,572.00
Part "A" : Substructure repairs to Quarry Brook, Ferryland. Part "B": Rehabilitation of Spout Brook Bridge, Aquaforte. Part "C": Rehabilitation of Northwest Brook Bridge, Trepassey. 01/09/2010 $547,490.00
Rehabilitation work at Grey river and LaPoile Ferry Terminal Wharfs. 27/08/2010
Cold plane & repave sections of R2 between TCH & Legion Rd & R1 on Outer Ring Rd. Paving at Donavan's Hwy Depot. Upgrading asphalt on Farm Rd Overpass. Pavement repairs to Arts & Culture Centre & Conf. Bldg. parking lots. 20/08/2010 $1,492,978.94
Repairs to Curtis causeway bridge pier footings (Dildo Run) Route 340, km 69.54 10/08/2010 $182,000.00
Diving Inspection of Wharfs at Grey River and Francois, NL 10/08/2010 $16,980.00
Widening and re-profiling of fixed loading ramp and wharf rehabilitation at Shoal Arm Ferry Terminal 30/07/2010 $672,525.00
Pulverize & pave, R370, Buchans Road; R370-12 Millertown local road, R381 Port Anson Road. Recap various sections of R380-16 Brighton Rd. Slope stabilization R380 Pilleys Island 23/07/2010 $1,794,295.50
Upgr & repave R210.. Culv replace R210. Upgr & resurf R220-10, Marystown & R221-15 Mortier. Level asphalt R210-15, Brookside, R212 Bay L'Argent, R212-16-1 Little Bay East and R210-18-1 Parkers Cove. Asph patch various locations 23/07/2010 $2,173,493.00
Part A: Expansion joint replacement & associated work on Gander Bay Causeway Bridge. Part B: Expansion joint replacement & associated work on Walter B. Elliot Bridge (Twillingate Causeway) 23/07/2010 $189,200.00
Site preparation work and salt storage facility foundation installation at the Springdale maintenance depot 23/07/2010 $353,790.00
Upgrading & paving TCH from east of Fischells River to west of Crabbes River; paving sections of R470 between Port Aux Basques and Harbour Le Cou; Pulv & Pave R462in Fox Island River and Boswarlos 22/07/2010 $8,295,951.47
Supply and application of herbicide in various areas of Newfoundland & Labrador 21/07/2010 $458,120.00
Pulv, upgr & repave R10 from Windsor's Rock towards Renews. Culvert replacement and cable guide rail install at broom Cove River, R10. Maintenance pavement upgr at bay Bulls Bridge and susie's Hill and storm sewer install 19/07/2010 $1,454,670.00
Pulv & pave R350 Northern Arm towards Pt Leamington, and R3-1-09 at Norris Arm North. Paving R350 in Leading Tickles and R352 in Northern Arm and R340 &341 Lewisporte. Remove & dispose concrete bridge over Woolfreys Pond Brook. 19/07/2010 $2,295,084.50
Upgrade & pave Harrys Harbour Rd. Pulv & pave R410-10 at Coachmans Cove. Paving sections of R392 at St Patricks, R410-10 in Coachmans cove and R410 between Baie Verte and Fleur De Lys. 19/07/2010 $1,581,377.35
Pul & pave 3.0km of Bay D'Espoir Highway at Harbour Breton; and 1.2km of St.Alban's Rd at St Joseph's Cove. Recap 1.7km of Morrisville Rd near Milltown and sections of Bay D'Espoir Highway between km 179 and 185 14/07/2010 $1,918,446.80
Maintenance of Natuashish Airstrip and related facilities 14/07/2010 $254,040.00
Part A: Substructure repairs to Eel Brook Bridge, Part B: Substructure repairs to Jumpers Brook Bridge, Part C: Deck repairs to Sir Robert Bond Bridge, Part D: Expansion joint replacement & associated work on Rushy Brook Bridge 30/06/2010 $149,150.00
Pulv & pave Horwood rd, Cottlesville Rd, Bach Harbour Rd, and Greenhams's Point Rd. Upgrade & pave Bayview Rd, Greenham's Rd, Point Rd and Hyne's rd. Recap Roger's Cove Rd and sections of R345 and Virgin Arm Point Rd. 28/06/2010 $2,815,190.60
Pulv, upgr & repave R70 Northern Bay to Gull Island, R70 Balckhead to Adam's Cove and Broad Cove to Blackhead. Maintenance pavement upgrading at Main St, Lower Island Cove. Asphalt pavement repairs at Juniper Lake Interchange. 16/06/2010 $1,559,497.25
Part A: Expansion joint replacement & associated work on Rattle Brook Bridge, Part B: Concrete deck repair on Rushoon Brook Bridge, Part C: Expansion joint replacement & associated work on Canning Bridge 16/06/2010 $265,930.00
Pulv & paving R430 from Portland Creek to Daniels Hr; Pulv & paving local roads in Pond Cove and Blue Cove; Paving sections of the St Barbe Loop Rd and sections of roads in Conche and Roddickton. 15/06/2010 $4,088,996.65
Upgrading & realignment of intersection at Portugal Cove Road and Ferry Terminal Road in Portugal Cove, NL 14/06/2010 $434,055.00
Part "A": Rehab of wharf at Port Hope Simpson including removal of part of the structure and extraction and replacement of timber fender piles.Part "B": Repairs to mooring dolphin at Marine facility in Cartwright. 31/05/2010 $890,700.00
Placement of Armour Stone protection on R460 at the Isthmus and on R462 at Fox Island River. 31/05/2010 $379,250.00
Part "A": Rehab of Northern Bay Brook, Route 70, km 75.8. Part "B": Repairs to Western Bay Brook Bridge, Route 70, km 79.6. Part "C": Replacement of aTimber Deck with reinforced concrete slab at Hindy's Brook Bridge, Winterton. 28/05/2010 $522,190.00
Pulv, widening and paving the Corner Brook Ring Rd from the TCH to Wheelers Rd; paving sections of R450 from Mount Moriah to Lark Harbour. Pulv and paving R440 from Gillams towards McIvors. 28/05/2010 $3,379,274.37
Construction of a two lane, two span, 76 meter prestressed concrete girder bridge and approaches at Middle Barachois River, Route 1, km 802, NL. 21/05/2010 $5,278,840.00
Emergency Deck Repairs to the Sir Ambrose Shea Lift Bridge, Route 100, km 45 17/05/2010 $36,732.31
Electrical and Mechancial maintenance of Sir Ambrose Shea lift bridge, Placentia, NL 14/05/2010 $51,270.00
Part "A": Rehabilitate Little Barachois Brook Bridge, Route 461, km 14.1. Part "B": Repairs to Dribble Brook Bridge, Route 461, km 19.8. 13/05/2010 $520,343.00
Emergency replacement of culvert on Route 421, km 10.9 in Hampden, NL 07/05/2010 $368,570.00
Clearing TCH Right of Way from 1 km east of Fischell's River bridge to Crabbes River bridge for a distance of approx. 20 kms. 26/04/2010 $110,600.00
Construction of a single lane, 42.7 meter panel bridge on Birchy Nap Road over the Torbay Bypass and associated road work. 21/04/2010 $648,500.00
Pulverize, upgrade & repave approx. 12.2 km of R90 from Gaskiers to Holyrood Pond Bridge, km 69.5 to km 81.7, to RLU 80 standard, NL 16/04/2010 $1,715,325.00
Milling and Paving TCH from Crooked Feeder towards Hampden Intersection for approximately 20.4 kms. 16/04/2010 $5,300,843.00
Construction of an Interchange on the Trans Canada Highway at Sunnyside, NL 14/04/2010 $4,354,591.00
Upgrading and paving Torbay Road from RCAF Road towards Torbay for a distance of approximately 1.4 kms. 09/04/2010 $3,212,011.00
Pulverize and pave sections of Route 330 in the Musgrave Harbour area and sections of Route 331 from Clarkes Head towards Horwood 01/04/2010 $5,948,607.00
Supply of electrical labour for the maintenance of street lighting, traffic monitoring traffic control devices on the Avalon Peninsula and installation of traffic control devices and monitoring equipment throughout NL and Labrador 29/03/2010 $50,505.00
Upgrading and paving of sections of Route 431, between Route 430 at Wiltondale and Gros Morne National Park boundary 29/03/2010 $1,769,554.50
Upgrading and repaving a section of Route 210, Burin Peninsula Highway, from the Trans Canada Highway towards North Harbour, km 0 to km 8.9 23/03/2010 $2,552,265.20
Pulverizing & paving of Route 60 between Harbour Main and Colliers from km 47.8 to km 55.4 for appx 7.6km. Paving Route 60-30 from the intersection of Harbour Drive, Colliers towards Conception Harbour for appx 1km 23/03/2010 $2,376,304.50
Emergecy Tender for Repairs at Fishells River Bridge, TCH - 075 23/03/2010 $22,700.00
Design, supply and installation of a new 36.6m (120Ft) single span, galvanized steel modular panel bridge at Indian Pond on the Newfoundland T'Railway in Conception Bay South 24/02/2010 $320,392.00
Clearing the Right of Way for the CBS Bypass from Legion Road towards Seal Cove 19/02/2010 $167,000.00
Aquaculture Inflow Wharf, Pool's Cove 10/02/2010 $2,689,650.00
Aquaculture Inflow Wharf, Hermitage 04/02/2010 $2,515,200.00
Repair Tidal Surge damage at Coachman's Cove between km 3 and km 4 of R410-10 and on R382 near Pilley's Island Ferry Terminal 14/01/2010 $509,150.00
Removal of superstructure of North Branch T'Railway Bridge and Installation of 180ft steel panel bridge on North Branch River 04/01/2010 $475,950.00
$150,349,271.52

 

A few notable points:

  1. Hurricane Igor cost $15 million in road damage. With global ocean warming, these will become more frequent.
  2. Resurfacing and repairing ruts in pavement is expensive.
  3. Many of these projects relate to bridges, wharves, airstrips and buildings and not just pavement. They are necessary for a functioning industrialized society.
  4. Many governments in the USA are reverting back to gravel roads because they can no longer afford to maintain ashpalt pavement.
  5. In general, road construction projects are some of the largest government contracts and become magnets for corruption and pork barrel politics.

Road Construction Policy

For anyone that looked closely at the list above, I suspect it was rather overwhealming. A sensible way to manage this mess is as follows:

Set a realistic budget. The current budget is too large. Pavement is nice, but there are more pressing issues than fresh pavement. Start with cutting it in half.

Each of these projects should have been listed in a web site table with projectected costs, well in advance of tendering. Each year about $75,000,000 of this would be covered. There should be a rationale for each project along with an opportunity for citizens to add comments. The priorities should be set by the department of transportation and works based on need and adjusted based on public discussions. The minister of the day should have little if any say about individual projects other than setting overall directions and high level budgets. Road projects should never be re-election tools. If the public wants to go further down the list, then they can ask for a tax increase or agree on what to sacrifice :-)

Some other states and provinces have excellent computer systems for tracking roads, bridges, gravel pits and millions of road signs as if it was one large industrial plant. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for example has something like Google street view, except that you get to drive along every road in the state and see a panoramic view. Engineers can then take virtual tours of potholes, bridge decay and monitor deterioration. There is no way that OCIO is up to this task presently, however, other provinces and commonwealths are willing to share systems at no cost. There is no reason Newfoundland can't accept help with catching up.

The budget must come from a stabilization fund and not bounce around like a yo yo. Projects should be designed and prepared for tender in one year and ready for tendering before the start of the construction season. This also means that the responsible ministers need to have their programs ready before the end of the fiscal year. All this is easy if budgets are stable from year to year. Currently, most minsters have no idea what their departments budget will be until about April, and by the time they juggle priorities and get their program ready, they've missed the beginning of the construction season.

Rutting in highways and pavement quality

Newfoundland has no railway system so the Trans Canada Highway receives most of the freight traffic. The province also allows studded snow tires and is lax about enforcing their removal in Spring. It is common to hear studs on cars on hot summer days.

Ruts are the result of vehicle loads compressing the pavement often with small upheavals on the sides of the ruts, and deformation of the layers of crushed stone and material that forms the road bed. Hundreds of studies have been carried out on road ruts. Below we review a few of them to look at commonalities:

Note: for each study, we have extracted points and quotes that are revelant to the problem in Newfoundland. Conclusions and policy follow below the next ruling line.

"RUTTING STUDY OF NAPTF FLEXIBLE PAVEMENT TEST SECTIONS" looked at ruts created by 747 and 777 aircraft on airport runways. They found that low strength fill under the road surface allowed ruts to form with less traffic and with lighter loads. Ruts were also deeper with flexible fill under the pavement as compared to stabilize fill (asphalt concrete).

"Heavy Load, Low Tire pressure Rutting Of Unbound Granular Pavements" looked at heavy vehicles on gravel roads. They found:

"Nonlinear Mixed-Effects Model for the Evaluation and Prediction of Pavement Deterioration" looks at the factors that contribute to ruts. These were "the pavement structure (thickness of the various layers) and the climatic conditions (height of precipitation). They develop statistical models and note that when using real data, the environmental factor had significant influence on the development of cracks in roads.

"Detection of Vehicles with Studded Tires Using Acoustic Emission Sensors Mounted to Highway Bridges" has an abstract that is worth reading:

"Transportation agencies expend large amounts of money annually to maintain highway wearing surfaces. Wear depends mainly on axle weight, vehicle speed, temperature, surface type, and the type of tires mounted on vehicles. When studded tires are used, wear is increased significantly. Past studies on the use of studded tires have highlighted the need for a tool to better estimate the number of vehicles with studded tires that travel a road network. Currently, there is no such tool available. This paper presents a detection methodology using acoustic emission techniques to identify vehicles operating with studded tires. Data from an in-service test on a highway bridge were used for developing and evaluating two proposed detection schemes. It was found that using relatively simple detection algorithms, vehicles with studded tires could be discriminated reliably. Finally, a practicable integrated system is proposed that could be implemented for detection and monitoring of studded snow tire use on highway systems."

"Deterioration Analysis of Flexible Pavements under Overweight Vehicles" looks at rules for determining the cost of a traffic fine for overweight vehicles that correlates to the repair costs.

"Development of Canadian asphalt pavement deterioration models to benchmark performance" studied sites across Canada had three sites in Newfoundland. The note "primary influence on pavement deterioration was the particular site at which the pavement was located. Two within-site variables, overlay thickness and prior cracking, were determined to strongly influence pavement deterioration". The site is no doubt important because rain, freeze-thaw cycles and the local quarry material used to create the road bed are important factors.

"Statistical and dimensional analysis of hot-mix asphalt mixture characteristics on asphalt pavement analyser rutting behaviour" finds "both the statistical analysis and the dimensional analysis present comparable results in that the binder stiffness of HMA mixtures is the most significant variable affecting APA rut performance results."

"Rutting Causes Analysis on Yi-Huai-Jiang Expressway". "The Yi-Huai-Jiang Expressway is part of the main passage from Beijing to Shanghai. Serious rutting distresses have developed since it was opened.", "it was concluded that the poor rutting-resistant property of the middle layer, which is significantly affected by voids and the passing rate of 4.75mm sieve, results in flowing ruts in this layer in the Shanghai-Beijing direction. It was determined that overloading of the road was causing compacting ruts in the bottom layer in the Beijing-Shanghai direction."

"Rutting in Asphalt Pavement under Heavy Load and High Temperature" contains this abstract: "Rutting is one of the main distresses in the asphalt pavements, especially in higher summer temperatures and/or under heavy loads. Efforts were made in this study to investigate rutting failures on Jing-Zhu expressway in China to determine the cause and the source of the rutting. The characteristic of the rutting on each asphalt pavement layer were analyzed by surveying the rutting depth, excavating transverse profile sections, and boring samples in the typical sections of expressways where different degrees of rutting damage were observed. It was found that 60% of the rutting was generated by the asphalt middle course layer and the remaining 40% came from the other surface layers, which was consistent with the mechanical analysis of the asphalt pavement that showed that the shear stress in middle asphalt course layer was the highest in magnitude, under load or temperature."

It is should be clear that the quality and and stability of the layers of fill under the asphalt are very important in that they have to resist the heavy loads. Other factors are high pressure in tires, studded tires and the climate.

Multiple Axle Trucks

Newfoundland recently allowed (2013) quad axle trailers. Given the rutting problem that currently exists, this is likely an additional public subsidy to the trucking industry.

Larger trucks with additional axles are cheaper to operate since more can be hauled by a each driver and tractor. Advantages:

Mixed Blessings:

Lower labor costs for business (each driver hauls more load with is more profitable for business, but not for truckers in general since there would be fewer jobs). If technological trends continue, automated driverless vehicles will someday eliminate professional driver jobs.

Disadvantages:

Businesses will configure their trucks in whatever manner suits them, so the only disadvantage is the additional road damage due to multi axle trucks. High winds in the province, especially the wreckhouse area could be dangerous for some configurations.

"Effect of Heavy Multiple Axle Trucks on Flexible Pavement Damage Using In-Service Pavement Performance Data" looks at pavements in the state of Michigan and notes "... The results indicated that trucks with multiple axles tridem or more appear to produce more rutting damage than those with only single and tandem axles.

Canadian Studies

For policy considerations, the following 2008 publication is a good starting point.

"Lessons learned about the impacts of size and weight regulations on the articulated truck fleet in the Canadian prairie region"

Abstract: "Three highway engineering policies directed at improving truck productivity by increasing size and weight limits have been implemented in the Canadian prairie region within the last 35 years: the 1974 Western Canada Highway Strengthening Program, the 1988 Roads and Transportation Association of Canada Memorandum of Understanding on Heavy Vehicle Weights and Dimensions, and special permitting of longer combination vehicles. As policies change, the trucking industry adjusts its fleets to take advantage of available efficiencies. Evidence of these changes and the lessons learned from the adoption of these policies are provided. Ultimately, as a result of these policies, articulated trucks now carry heavier and larger payloads, have different axle configurations, and have higher axle weight limits than they did 35 years ago. The threefold to fivefold increase in articulated truck volumes that occurred during this period would have been more dramatic had these policies not been implemented. Further research is necessary to understand the interactions among policies, vehicles, and infrastructure."

Unlike the prairie provinces, Newfoundland abandoned its railroad and has a population concentrated at the far eastern end of the province with a main ferry terminal located as far away as possible (900 km) in Port Aux Basques. This results in the majority of freight traffic having to share the Trans Canada Highway, which is also the only passenger vehicle road across the island, so road damage is a major issue.

The Canadian Government did implement "the Atlantic Provinces Primary Highway Strengthening Program (1977-1987)" although given the state of sections of the transcanada highway, more is needed.

Policy Considerations

Improving the standards of road beds is the most difficult item. The Department of Transportation needs to have a section of road built as an experiment (perhaps part of the Labrador Highway) with enhanced stability, thicker layers and better materials as an experiment. This enhanced section could be a large change order to an existing contract. If this section stays in good shape while the sections before and after develop ruts, then it will quite clear what works and what the incremental cost of a longer lasting highway is going to be. In this case, we would compare the additional cost of the improved road bed with the cost of removing ruts every few years and add to this the cost of accidents caused by water filled ruts. It may not be kind to assign $$$ to human lives lost, but for the sake of analysis an arbitrary value could be set at $1 million.