Dec. 15, 2014, Charlottetown – An asphalt plant in Prince County will open tomorrow to help repair the roads damaged by last week's rain, says Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal Minister Robert Vessey.
Dec. 15, 2014, Charlottetown – An asphalt plant in Prince County will open tomorrow to help repair the roads damaged by last week's rain, says Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal Minister Robert Vessey.
Plants had shut down for the winter but the department was able to work with a local contractor to open a plant.
"It is very unusual to be paving roads in December," said the minister. "Crews have been working around the clock to open roads and structures, and firing up this plant will help repairs proceed as quickly as possible."
Improvements will also be made to some of the detour roads that will be in use during these longer projects. These roads were not constructed to take the amount of heavy traffic that travels on Route 2. Several kilometres of the detour roads will be paved.
A number of roads and structures reopened over the weekend. It is anticipated the remaining roads will be reopened by the end of the week. Of the 23 structures damaged, 10 are reopened.
Some structures that sustained significant damage will take longer to open. These include:
– Bloomfield: 6-8 weeks
– Tyne Valley: 3-4 weeks
– Huntley Bridge: 6-8 weeks
– Route 131: 6-8 weeks
Water is still high in some areas and it needs to recede before repairs can proceed. Engineers will look at replacing the existing older structures with larger ones, where appropriate, to withstand climate change.
The best way to check for road closures is to dial 5-1-1 or visit www.511.gov.pe.ca.
Crews will continue to work throughout the holidays.
"I want to thank the residents of West Prince for their resiliency during this trying time, as well as the crews and engineers who are working to repair the damage as quickly as possible," said the minister.
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