The Town of Truro is urging motorists to remain patient and drive safe as road resurfacing continues at several locations around Truro, promising they will be finished within two weeks.
Mike Dolter, Truro’s chief administrative officer, said that repaving is being carried out on sections of Queen and Walker Streets, Esplanade and Arthur, two spots on Prince Street either side of the railroad tracks, McClures Mills Road, Willow Street, Young Street from Fairview to Glenwood Drive and Treaty Trail Drive in Millbrook First Nation.
Roadworks have caused traffic jams as some lanes have been closed off, such as around Queen and Walker, but this intersection should be finished by Monday. “People complain when we don’t work on the roads and people complain when we are,” said Dolter. “Be patient. The work will not take long to do and the people out there are doing their best.”
Road resurfacing is carried out by crews who ‘mill’ or strip down the topmost asphalt layer by grinding it up.
The rough, grooved road surface left behind can then be easily resurfaced with a fresh layer, repainted with lane markings and reopened to motorists.
Dolter said that all these intersections are being repaved at the same time to finish them quickly and minimize traffic jams around town that may otherwise persist all summer.
According to Dolter, carrying out roadworks on weekends costs more than on weekdays, a response to some members of the public who say such work should be done at that time to minimize traffic disruption and delays.
“Our responsibility is to make sure we get maximum value out of the transport budget – we pay a premium for operating on weekends,” said Dolter.
When deciding what roads to fix, the town uses a grading system of good, satisfactory, fair, poor, very poor, serious and failed.
None of the roads being repaired are classed as failing and some stretches like on Queen and Walker are in a ‘fair’ condition.
But Dolter said that repairing a road in fair condition is vastly less expensive than letting it become ‘serious’ – especially for a high-traffic intersection like Queen and Walker.
Being proactive will also allow the Town to fix crumbling sections of side roads on Wood Street, Ridgewood Drive, Melrose Terrace and Adelaide Street after the current round of repaving is finished.
In addition to the roads, the Town is also giving the sidewalks on Revere Street and Cobequid Drive a facelift.
