MANITOULIN—The Ministry of Transportation (MTO) announced it has reached a tentative agreement with DeAngelo Brothers Services (DBi) to continue its road maintenance contract (which includes Manitoulin) until at least the fall of 2017, this following the November announcement that DBi would cease to hold the contract that was due to expire in 2023.
It was reported that, in 2014, DBi had been fined hundreds of thousands of dollars by the MTO for failing to meets its contractual obligations with the province. The ministry would not say whether this was the reason for ending the contract ahead of time, but rather that “this is a mutual decision between the two organizations based on what is best for the province, the travelling public and for DBi Services.”
Last fall, the MTO issued a request for proposals for maintenance services in the Sudbury Area, which includes 1,325 two-lane kilometres of provincial highway between Elliot Lake and Hagar and north of Cartier to Point-au-Baril, including Manitoulin Island.
“After receiving and evaluating proposals in January, MTO staff determined that the proposals received did not provide good value for taxpayer dollars,” Gordan Rennie, MTO regional spokesperson, told The Expositor.
“The ministry and DBi Services have reached a tentative agreement to continue to provide highway maintenance services for the Sudbury maintenance area until at least until the fall of 2017. This agreement will include the enhanced service levels that were implemented over the past few winters.”
“The additional time will allow the ministry to review, modify or develop new contract models to ensure that high quality and affordable maintenance services are provided,” he added. “Once this work is complete, we will look to implement the best delivery model for the Sudbury maintenance area.”
“Ontario’s roads are among the safest in North America and we are committed to keeping it that way,” Mr. Rennie concluded. ”The ministry and local stakeholders, including the OPP, have been positive about DBi Service’s performance this winter.”
