Crews grind up old asphalt to repave streets

Walking downtown in New Glasgow recently, people may be wondering about the constant sounds of jackhammers and other machinery working away and the absence of chunks of sidewalk.

Town engineer Earl MacKenzie said the noise and missing sidewalk are part of work being done on three downtown streets that are all on the town’s paving list for the year: Provost, Archimedes and Jury streets.

“What you’re seeing is crews working to prepare the streets for a milling machine,” said MacKenzie. The milling machine is being brought in to remove asphalt on those streets, so that they can be repaved.

The milling machine has been at work since 4 a.m. this morning, and is grinding up existing asphalt on those three streets. MacKenzie noted that what the work crews have been doing over the past few days was preparation for the milling machine.

In addition to the removal of sections of sidewalk, ironwork – such as manholes, catch basins – has been lowered so the milling machine can go through to grind up existing asphalt.

“When it’s done, we will be raising that iron and repaving the streets,” explained MacKenzie. “In this case, we’re not going to pave over existing streets with asphalt. We have to remove what’s there and put the asphalt back.”

MacKenzie said the town “can’t build up another two inches on the streets,” adding that the milling machine is being used to remove deteriorating asphalt, rather than just paving over it.

Provost Street, in particular, has been in need of special attention because of rutting. MacKenzie said the rutting on the street is similar to that on a highway, with defined wheel tracks forming in it, but “the milling machine will correct that.”

Foregoing use of the milling machine and simply paving over the ruts would not be enough to compact them, he noted.

As for a timeframe for completion, MacKenzie doesn’t have an exact date in mind, but anticipates the work with the milling machine alone will take all day.

“Then our crews will come back, and raise the iron, and Webster’s paving will come in, following that, sometime at the end of next week and pave,” said MacKenzie. “We’re still about two weeks away for it to be 100 per cent.”