Additional $400,000 required for Dorchester Road work: Staff
Niagara Falls city council will consider approving $400,000 in added expenses for what was to be a $500,000 temporary rehabilitation project on Dorchester Road, between McLeod Road and Lundy’s Lane.
In a report scheduled to go before council Tuesday evening, staff recommends the $400,000 come from the city’s federal gas tax program.
In December, council approved a capital budget that included $1.2 million for a road resurfacing and rehabilitation program in 2018 — $500,000 of which was allocated to address concerns on Dorchester Road.
According to staff, an additional $400,000 is required to address resident complaints, driveability and drainage concerns.
Dorchester Road, from McLeod Road to Lundy’s Lane, is approximately two kilometres in length and has an average road width of 13.5 metres.
Over the years, the section has been patched on numerous occasions due to infrastructure repairs, resulting in numerous construction joints, affecting the driveability caused by differential settlement, states the report.
The section has also been named in the annual CAA Worst Roads campaign.
The city’s master drainage plan identified the requirement of a new storm sewer outlet for the Corwin drainage area.
There is an environmental assessment underway to complete this process.
Construction of the outlet is planned to coincide with the Ontario Power Generation canal rehabilitation, scheduled for 2021 and 2022, said staff.
Once completed, sewer separation work on Dorchester Road, between McLeod Road and Lundy’s Lane, may begin, states the report.
Full road reconstruction of Dorchester Road, including new infrastructure work, is forecast to begin in eight to 10 years, said staff.
Staff said they investigated two, low-cost and durable solutions to provide an acceptable level of service for the next decade.
Due to the amount of patching required — approximately half of the overall area, which is double the amount of patching initially anticipated — it would not be practical or feasible to use the repair and patch solution, states the report.
Staff said patching would increase the number of construction joints and would not address the driveability concern.
The report indicates a mill and pave option would cover the entire travelled portion of Dorchester Road and would include a new 60-millimetre-thick asphalt wearing course.
An allowance has been made for asphalt base repairs, as well as some granular shoulder rehabilitation, said staff.
The estimated cost for the two options is similar and ranges from $900,000 to $1 million.
“It is municipal works recommendation that milling and paving be our temporary, 10-year solution,” states the report.
“This option will address driveability issues by removing all the construction joints, while drainage concerns will be greatly improved by re-establishing the crown in the road.”