We understand the condition of many gravel roads in our service area. The mild winter has brought unique challenges for maintenance. The repeated freeze, snow & thaw makes for extra saturation in the road base. Continued freeze and buildup of permafrost holds the road base together, we haven’t had this which is unprecedented. Typically gravel roads are frozen for the majority of the winter season and thaws in the spring, this year has been repeated freeze and thaw with minimal to no permafrost. To protect the roadway, we cannot surface grade the road when the temps are warm and moisture is high or when the temps are too cold. The integrity of the road base is weakened by excess water. Roads will experience thawing at different rates based on site characteristics such as temperature, exposure, soil and road construction materials, moisture levels in the roadway, topography, drainage and local weather patterns. Once excess water has been removed from the road base, and the road has been determined to be structurally sound, we can surface grade. This is also why load restrictions are implemented to protect the road base. At this point, AIM in partnership with MoTI, are continuously monitoring our roads for changing conditions and will schedule grading as conditions allow.
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