That bumpy ride is going to get a tad smoother.
Thousands of tonnes of hot mix asphalt are going down this year on the streets of Chilliwack.
The 2015 Asphalt Rehabilitation and Shoulder Paving tender went to GTB Construction for $2.138 million after a council vote last May. That's almost a million more than last year's tender.
"Aggressive tendering by the bidders will allow the City to proceed with all the base and provisional work, within the 2015 budget," according to the staff report.
Local roads on the list for fresh blacktop include sections of: Lindell, Edward, Ryder Lake, Sumas Prairie, Thornton, Airport, Yale, Young, First, Bailey and Luckakuck.
The Road Rehab budget also covers $1.4 million of work not included in the base tender, such as repaving on Camp River, and Promontory Roads, as well as road strengthening on Elkview and some rail crossing improvements.
Boundary Road was tentatively on the provisional list with a water main replacement planned in Yarrow, but the water main project is not going ahead this year so neither is the repaving on Boundary since it's contingent on the provisional work.
Which roads get attention on any given year is based on a 'worst first' approach.
Every five years the city contracts out for a survey that assigns a pavement quality index rating for each road.
The rehab system divides Chilliwack roads into class categories, as local, collector or arterial, and that ensures lower-volume local roads get upgraded as well.
Repaving work is funded by gas tax revenues as well as city tax revenues, and other sources.
GTB Construction, a subsidiary of Keywest Asphalt, was also awarded the tender for Chilliwack roads from 2012 to 2014, as well as in 2009, but it was under the name Keywest in those years. GTB had low bid for base and shoulder work, as well as for provisional projects.
The new GTB subsidiary of Keywest "was created to allow them to bid on municipal projects requiring civil construction work," according to the staff report, adding that Keywest Asphalt had been "rejected" from bidding on projects with civil components because their name gave the impression they did "paving only."
GTB's new asphalt plant on Herrling Island got a visit from the consultant and staff and both were "satisfied" the facility can produce the volume required for the 2015 paving contract.
So far this summer work on Upper Prairie, Gillanders and Ballam Road has been completed.
jfeinberg@theprogress.com
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