18th Street one of Manitoba’s worst roads: CAA
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 24/05/2022 (1412 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Brandon has “won” a spot on a list of roads no community wants to be on, but there are better roads ahead.
CAA Manitoba has released its annual ranking of the worst roads in Manitoba, with Brandon making an appearance not once but twice.
Eighteenth Street ranked fifth on the list for the province’s worst roads, and third for southern Manitoba. Brandon’s stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway, meanwhile, was ranked seventh-worst in southern Manitoba.
It’s unfortunate Brandon has found itself back on the list after spending nearly a decade as simply a spectator of the poll, said Mayor Rick Chrest.
According to CAA reports, Brandon last appeared on Manitoba’s worst roads list in 2014 and 2013, both times for Victoria Avenue.
Chrest pointed out that 18th Street and the Trans-Canada roads are under provincial jurisdiction, but added it has been a particularly challenging year for Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure (MTI), which oversees road maintenance in the province.
A colder than average winter caused plenty of damage to roads and flooding issues have kept repair crews at bay, making pothole work much more difficult, he said.
“To that end, our operations division has recently reached out to [MTI] to offer the city’s assistance given the flood issues they are contending with, and as such we will [be] deploying a crew to augment the pothole filling on these provincial roads within Brandon,” he said. “We are proud of the teamwork approach we can take between provincial and municipal sectors and aid each other when the need arises.”
Repairs are being done around the city on an ongoing basis by an MTI day crew and night crew, said city operations manager Patrick Pulak. As of Tuesday afternoon, there was a pothole repair crew on 18th and First streets.
He said in terms of the stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway, the provincial and federal governments have agreements to share in the maintenance. Work will get underway along that section this year, he said, with the province planning a grind and overlay program.
“I understand this is a tongue-in-cheek type of contest, and we have a robust potholing program in the city and Manitoba because of our seasons,” he said. “This [spring] season has been particularly late. We do what we can with the resources we have.”
Because of the poor weather, crews have only restarted the asphalt plant on Tuesday. In the meantime, the city has had to use cold mix, to spot patch potholes. This is more of a quick fix to try to fill in the hole while they wait for weather to be ideal for a more permanent asphalt resurfacing, Pulak said.
» kmckinley@brandonsun.com
» Twitter: @karenleighmcki1