Holes in roads plan need to be filled: PCS
PC Interim Leader David Brazil says key recommendations by auditor general three years ago should have been implemented
Members of the media were asked on Tuesday to take a little ride down Bennett’s Road in Portugal Cove-st. Philip’s to see the state of potholes on the provincially maintained road.
Progressive Conservative Interim Leader David Brazil said the road — which is rough in places, and with what appeared on Tuesday to be hastily repaired potholes — is indicative of many roads throughout the province that come under the provincial government’s jurisdiction.
“This one pothole is responsible for at least four broken tires that I am aware of,” Brazil said, pointing to a pothole that appeared to have fresh asphalt placed over orange bags of soil.
Brazil said the repairs seem to have been made since he and the town, and a number of citizens, stepped up their complaining about the road in recent days.
“We know this is an issue across the province,” Brazil said.
Last week, Auditor General Denise Hanrahan delivered a report to the House of Assembly raising concerns about the provincial government’s slow response in implementing recommendations from the auditor general’s June 2017 Report on Performance Audits of Departments and Crown Agencies.
Recommendations concerning the province’s roads were among the items flagged in the report.
Of the eight recommendations regarding roads, four have been fully implemented, two have been partially implemented and two have not yet been acted upon by the government.
“The amount of money spent on roads is significant,” the AG report states.
”Newfoundland and Labrador has 2,469 paved kilometres of road that are part of the national highway system (NHS). The NHS is made up of core routes, feeder routes and remote routes. As a result of recommendations from the roadquality audit not being fully implemented, risks remain.
“Our provincial road system is used by hundreds of thousands of people each year, including residents, tourists and businesses. If (Transportation and Works) is not adequately managing roadwork, road quality could be affected, increasing the chances of accidents, and increasing the costs to perform roadwork.”
The two recommendations not yet acted upon are that the department should implement a system to track road conditions, identify maintenance priorities and support roadwork decisions, and also evaluate how to objectively assess road conditions, and that the department should develop a structured maintenance program that considers the pavement lifecycle and includes information on the type of maintenance required, maintenance schedules and frequency of maintenance.
Brazil says it is “baffling” why the Liberal government would ignore key recommendations to protect the safety and wallets of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.
“It’s a bit disheartening that everybody in Newfoundland and Labrador, in the spring of the year, is facing turmoil with the road conditions,” Brazil said.
“It’s disheartening because the auditor general just came out again with her report outlining that over three years ago she made a set of recommendations to the department that would improve the tracking of road conditions, the approach to be used for prioritizing which roads need to be done and a process whereby people could identify in their own communities what the conditions of the roads are.
“So it’s hard for crews to be able to prioritize what needs to be done and know what investment needs to be done if the tracking process is not in play. So it’s piecemeal. (The government) is being reactive versus being proactive.”
Finance Minister Siobhan Coady said in a statement last Friday the government has implemented 92 per cent of the recommendations from the 2017 report either fully or partially. That includes the four of eight recommendations regarding transportation and infrastructure implemented fully, and two partially, and that work continues toward implementing the others.
“While much work has been done to implement the 2017 recommendations, work is ongoing to ensure full compliance,” she said.