WIIKWEMKOONG – Road maintenance is always a challenge in small rural communities, and Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory has seen its share of potholes and rough patches, unwelcome guests from winters past.
In response to community concerns, Wiikwemkoong public works provided a community update on plans to address the issues pointed out by members.
C28 Engineering has been hired to complete a roads need study/management plan for Wiikwemkoong. Beginning on June 21, the study is expected to take three months to complete. The study will inventory roads, traffic volumes, road conditions, maintenance needs, specific maintenance and construction needs and a recommended improvement plan.
“This assessment, along with the recommended improvement plan will assist in our long-term planning strategy for public works to improve quality management, to forecast and plan for future road maintenance taking into consideration financial and human resources,” reads a posted release.
In addition to the long-term plan, Wiikwemkoong public works is tackling some immediate issues, resurfacing 14 kilometres of road in Kaboni, 11 kilometres of Kaboni Road itself, nine kilometres of Webkamigad Road and two kilometres of South Bay Road. Efforts to make the roadwork more sustainable include a doubling of the layers and C28 Engineering has been hired to oversee the road treatment work, which is expected to take place between July 5 and August 31, beginning on Kaboni Road and ending up in South Bay.
EXP Engineering, Architecture, Design and Consulting will be testing locally sourced (Kaboni gravel pit) material to supply the granular M material.
Finally, public works will be going over graded sections of the roads done previously with the grader and the grounds crew will be filling potholes on the remainder of the roads, starting on Rabbit Island Road.
