ERIN – Town officials are formulating a plan to try to complete over $21 million in road repairs over the next decade.
On May 18 Erin council passed a motion directing staff to develop an implementation framework for recommendations outlined in the municipality’s 2021 road needs study.
In a presentation to council, infrastructure services director Nick Colucci noted the total cost of required road repairs is $21,599,199 over a 10-year period.
In September, Triton Engineering Services Limited prepared the town’s 2021 road needs study, which examined the town’s entire 271km road network (175 km of gravel roads, 24 km of surface treated roads and 72 m of paved roads).
About 217km of Erin roads will require improvements over the course of the 10-year plan, the study notes.
It assessed traffic volumes, road improvement needs (immediate, within one to five years, and within six to 10 years), roundabout needs, alignment concerns, converting gravel to paved roads and sidewalk conditions.
As noted in the study, the total cost for paved road projects over the 10-year period is $20,944,082; for surface treated roads the total is $655,117.
In addition, based on traffic volumes and safety concerns, the study identified the following intersections as candidates for the construction of roundabouts:
- Wellington Road 124 at Wellington Road 52 (Highway 124 and Main St., Erin);
- Wellington Road 52 at 9th Line;
- Trafalgar Road and Wellington Road 124; and
- Trafalgar Road and Halton Hills Boundary (32)/Wellington Road 42 (Ballinafad).
The study also identified the following roads as potential candidates for conversion from gravel to a paved surface:
- 17 Sideroad, from Wellington Road 26 to 2nd Line;
- 2nd Line, between Sideroads 27 and 32;
- 10 Sideroad, from Trafalgar Road to the Wellington County boundary;
- 8th Line, from 17 Sideroad to Wellington Road 22, from Erinwood to Delarmbro, and from Wellington Road 124 to Wellington Road 42;
- 10th Line, from Wellington Road 124 to Wellington Road 22 and from 10 Sideroad to Wellington Road 42;
- 6th Line, from Wellington Road 50 to the Halton Hills boundary (HHB);
- 5th Line, from Wellington Road 50 to HHB;
- 4th Line, from Wellington Road 50 to HHB; and
- 3rd Line, from from Wellington Road 50 to HHB.
The roads were chosen based on connectivity between paved sections, proximity to Erin village and proximity to the Caledon, Brampton and Halton borders.
The study noted that converting the road sections from gravel to pavement would reduce the gravel road length from 175km to 131km. That would potentially lead to the need for one less grader, which could be replaced by a tandem axle sander or plow combination unit, the study states.
In addition, the sidewalk condition assessment identified a number of areas requiring improvements. The cost for replacements/repairs is estimated at $69,450.
The recommendations made in the study will be considered as part of the town’s annual budgeting process.
