Fourth Avenue between Baxter Street and Ogilvie Street will be getting repaved this summer.
The commencement report for the asphalt overlay of the 300-odd metre stretch was presented to council on the standing committee of Jan. 20, 2025. Commencement reports are necessary for any city procurement with an estimated value of $500,000 or more — or any projects that pose significant safety concerns.
The 2025 budget for the asphalt overlay program is $2 million. Half of the cost will be covered by the federal Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP), should the city’s funding application be approved, and the other half will be covered by the city’s reserves.
The city’s asphalt surface overlay program is an ongoing program aiming to repave roads that are deteriorated, but do not need that full reconstruction.
According to Rob Dickson, the manager of engineering services for the city, the work will consist of a “mill and fill” - milling the road surface down 60 millimetres and then replacing it.
Dickson told councillors that repairs are expected to take place from June to October 2025. However, he said, the road won’t be closed for months on end, and a traffic management plan will be implemented for the project.
Councillors Morris and Middler asked if it would be possible to reconfigure the street during the construction.
Middler said it’s a dangerous stretch of road for cyclists.
“I'm just wondering, is there any consideration of even just a minor concession, like a rumble strip or something that would keep cars in their lane and maintain that sort of safe area for cyclists?” Middler asked.
Dickson said there was room to explore those possibilities, and also mentioned the possibility of using thermoplastic paint for road lines to help keep cars in their lanes in that area.
Morris also asked if the design was taking into consideration the demolition of the old municipal building on that block of Fourth Avenue.
Dickson said administration anticipates the future development in that lot will come with the need for services.
“There will be consideration on how to navigate that and make accommodations for future services, if possible,” said Dickson. “However, there's not a great deal of certainty on what those will look like, and at this time and in the meantime, like you said, the condition of the road is poor.”
Coun. Dan Boyd expressed concerns with the price tag associated with repaving such a small stretch of road.
“Is it crazy expensive for a little bit of asphalt overlay, or is there a lot more going on here that drives the cost up, such as cutting out 60 millimeters of existing asphalt and so on?” asked Boyd.
Dickson said that there is the opportunity to add on other high-priority segments of road in the program depending on what the pricing is.
There are challenging market factors as well, he said.
“I do hope that somehow we can do a whole lot more overnight work for $2 million than that little bit of street,” said Boyd. Boyd went on to say he was concerned with the way the city publishes its budgets and how it may be sabotaging their procurement process.
“The contractors know our budget, and they also know what's in our reports, and sort of believe that, okay, well, we can provide this little bit of asphalt overlay for $2 million, no problem,” said Boyd. “Are we part of our own… working against ourselves the way we go about this, as far as getting a fair value for money?”
Boyd said he did not expect an answer from Dickson regarding that question, but expressed hope that strategies are in place to ensure the city gets good value for taxpayer investments.
New information was made available regarding the asphalt overlay for Fourth Avenue during the Jan. 27 city council meeting.
It was clarified during the meeting that the road overlay would not lead to a full road closure of Fourth Avenue between Baxter Street and Ogilvie Street. Instead, the roadwork would be done lane by lane, with traffic management in place for one to two weeks at a time. City spokesperson Matthew Cameron said the city is aiming to have the work done in July or August, and will have a schedule to share with the public once the project is tendered and awarded.
“It's anticipated that most of this work will occur lane by lane, not resulting in any full road closure through the summer, but the traffic management in place for one to two weeks at a time,” said Travis Whiting, acting director of infrastructure and operations.
Whiting went on to say that the asphalt overlay program is an ongoing annual investment which selects different segments of road each year to invest in, to reduce the need to do full reconstruction in any one area. Fourth Avenue was deemed to be most in need of resurfacing due to high levels of traffic, Whiting said.
Whiting called the asphalt overlay program “preventative maintenance,” which allows the city to maintain road surfaces before they deteriorate and require substantive work.
Matthew Cameron, spokesperson for the city, said parts of Lewes Boulevard are also under consideration for overlay, subject to what money is available within the proposed $2 million budget. However that would be determined based on a physical assessment of the city’s road network in the spring, said Cameron. He said the city would aim to minimize traffic disruptions.
City council voted to authorize staff to start procurement for the project at Jan. 27's council meeting. A contract is expected to be struck for March 2025, and the project is expected to be complete for October 2025, based on the initial staff report.
Contact Talar Stockton at talar.stockton@yukon-news.com
Editor's note: Edits have been made to this article after new information regarding the asphalt overlay program was shared at the Jan. 27 city council meeting. Notably, the article suggested that Fourth Avenue would be closed fully when this was not the case.