Prioritizing Projects
100 series highways
Decisions about major construction
upgrades and twinning of the 100-series
highways are based mostly on traffic
volumes, safety studies, and collision
statistics.
Decisions about paving projects are
guided mostly by the department’s
Pavement Management System. The
system collects up-to-date pavement
conditions and traffic information on all
100-series highways and uses a computer
program to generate the best possible
maintenance and rehabilitation plan
based on nationally accepted guidelines.
This information with the technical
knowledge of highway program
staff helps inform annual and multi-
year paving plans, including various
rehabilitation and preservation projects.
Trunks, routes and local paved
roads handling more than 500
vehicles daily
There are many factors that we take
into consideration when assessing
and making decisions about repaving
secondary and local paved roads:
- traffic volumes
- surface roughness
- pavement conditions (cracking, rutting, and
broken pavement)
- maintenance or safety concerns
Priorities for pavement preservation
projects, such as crack and chip sealing,
are developed by highway program
staff, who assess the current age and
condition of the pavement.
Local low-volume paved roads
and gravel roads
The following factors help determine priorities for surface
stabilization projects:
- traffic volumes
- roadside development, including the number of homes,
businesses, and community sites (eg., churches,
community halls, recreation centres, parks, etc.)
located on the road
- requests for road repairs from residents, businesses,
not for profit groups, and community
- groups, chambers of commerce and elected officials
Bridges
Provincial bridges are inspected and assessed regularly
by Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal
engineers and inspectors.
Priorities for annual and multi-year bridge rehabilitation
and replacement programs are developed by staff, who
consider the condition, age, and use of the structure; the
volume of traffic and weights; and the class of roadway
where the structure is located.
Public safety is always the primary consideration.