*City lays down plan for tougher roads *
* New construction rules geared to more durability*
https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/city-to-boast-street-construction-s…
WINNIPEG is adding new road construction rules with an eye to making its
streets last longer.
The changes should allow concrete construction to last 25 per cent longer
and add 15 per cent to the lifespan of asphalt, said Brad Neirinck, City of
Winnipeg engineering manager, noting local construction standards have
lagged behind those of other Canadian cities.
“We’re behind the times. We’re trying to move our specifications up to
match what other jurisdictions are doing and improve our life cycle,” he
said Tuesday.
The new standards would ensure a higher quality of limestone, gravel and
concrete are used to build certain roads, which would be stiffer and offer
better drainage, helping them hold up better, said Ahmed Shalaby, a civil
engineer who works with the city.
“The improvement in performance is actually quite significant. Some of
these materials can be twice as good as what we were using previously,”
Shalaby told reporters.
“It will drain faster, it will be stronger, it will have fewer cracks.”
During Tuesday’s public works committee meeting, Shalaby warned councillors
Winnipeg’s previous road standards were “in a way, obsolete.”
The higher standards should also prevent some streets from requiring
repairs every five or 10 years, he said.
Developers at the meeting raised a series of concerns, including the
spectre of increased costs and sending more rejected road materials to the
landfill.
Other issues about the new material rules could make it difficult for
contractors to budget for work, said Chris Lorenc, president of the
Manitoba Heavy Construction Association.
“We don’t know the extent to which it’s going to be subject to rejection…
That creates risk, uncertainty and a potential spike in prices,” he said.
However, city council’s public works chairman expects the changes will
finally address citizen complaints that local roads haven’t been built to
last.
“We needed to get with the times and join other jurisdictions in building
roads that are going to be built better and last longer,” said Coun. Matt
Allard (St. Boniface).
Despite industry concerns, it’s not clear if the change would actually
increase construction project costs, Allard said. Even though the city
would require that higher-quality materials be used, projects may also use
smaller amounts of them, he said.
“We need to go into the field and apply it to know exactly how much it’s
going to cost,” Allard said.
After hearing multiple presentations from concerned members of the
construction industry, city staff said two key compromises should help
address any potential issues: the higher standard for construction work
will be implemented this year on contracts and subjected to ongoing review
by a working group with industry members, and developers of some
private-sector projects will be exempt from the new rules until 2021.
In October, the city’s public service is expected to provide an update on
how the new standard works out.
joyanne.pursaga(a)freepress.mb.ca
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--------------------------------
Orly Linovski, Ph.D. (RPP, MCIP)
Assistant Professor, Department of City Planning
University of Manitoba
204-474-6424 / orly.linovski(a)umanitoba.ca<mailto:orly.linovski@umanitoba.ca>
http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~linovsko/
