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Aggregate producers review Winnipeg’s plans for base testing

June 5, 2018 – The MHCA’s Winnipeg and the Aggregate Producers Committees are preparing suggestions to assist the City of Winnipeg in its quality assurance process for aggregate bases in road construction, which may include a complete change in the testing process and/or more frequent base testing.

City officials met with approximately a dozen MHCA members that are either aggregate suppliers or contractors working on city road construction projects. The intent was to review the city’s desire to verify that base preparation on streets and roads construction work follows specifications in road-engineering design.

The industry is concerned that any increase in testing frequency does not interrupt or delay excessively the construction work, as it is working with a compressed construction season already.

“Our industry has a material interest in assuring it meets or exceeds — and can show that it consistently delivers — base preparation according to the city’s specifications,” MHCA president Chris Lorenc stressed. “We welcome quality assurance testing because that is good for the whole industry, as it is for the value returned to taxpayers. There is no argument that to get good roads, you have to build on a good base.”

The committee undertook to make suggestions on how the city can improve its oversight on the supply and testing of aggregate base material, in keeping with the mutual interest of starting and completing road work projects on time.

The MHCA will keep members updated on the review as decisions are made.