Grey County has adjusted its summer road work plans in light of COVID-19, but will still be pushing forward with a few critical projects.
Grey County CAO, Kim Wingrove confirmed that a number of tenders for road work in Grey County have been cancelled, or postponed, and the county will only be moving forward with projects that have been deemed critical.
“You can appreciate that there is a lot of work that happens in transportation from a maintenance perspective, and that we need to keep intersections and sightlines safe. We need to stay on top of that,” Wingrove said.
The county road works projects that have been approved to go ahead amid the COVID-19 shut down include, Grey Road 4 in Durham, Grey Road 9 in Southgate, Grey Road 15 in Meaford, Grey Road 19 in the Town of the Blue Mountains and Grey Road 29 through Walter’s Falls.
The county will also proceed with 3.4 kilometres of road work along Grey Road 40, something the county says needs to be completed before next winter.
“We will be working with the contractor to try and get key jobs done this year,” said Pat Hoy, director of transportation services for Grey County. “We feel that if we do not do this section, we could be in trouble maintaining this through the winter and that is why we want to move forward with this.”
E.C. King Contracting was awarded a $1.3 million tender in order to complete guardrail upgrades and replacement; storm, sewer, curb and gutter replacement; 3.25-metre lanes with 0.75 to 1.25 metre paved shoulders; as well as pulverize and pave rehabilitation along Grey Road 40.
“One thing that we have heard a lot from the Ontario Good Roads Association is they want these jobs to go. Contractors want these jobs to go. Essential, public safety road work is approved by the province and that is why we have gone ahead and closed this tender,” Hoy added.
The county says road work on Grey Road 40 is scheduled for June 22 to Aug. 28, and the road will be open to traffic throughout construction with alternating lane closures.
“We have adjusted activities to be conducted by one person in one piece of equipment or using staggered shifts. We are trying to achieve those social distancing measures to keep our staff safe. This will have an impact on our efficiency,” Wingrove said, adding that the county will not be hiring any additional staff for the road work, but rather continue to run with the departments full-time staff and nine seasonal employees.
