A comprehensive report on the state of Salmo’s roads has been presented to the village by Selkirk Paving Ltd. as part of a pilot project to help small communities assess current road conditions and maintain road assets sustainably.
“We are incredibly grateful to have been selected for this pilot project,” says village administrator Diane Kalen-Sukra. “Having asset management plans in place for all capital assets is the responsible and informed way to make maintenance, repair and budgeting decisions about public infrastructure. The challenge is, these studies can be costly and time consuming.”
Selkirk Paving signed an agreement in the village in 2015 to provide, on a complimentary and pilot project basis, a thorough assessment of the village’s entire road network. Selkirk Paving mobilized a team of engineers, road managers and local experts to prepare the report.
“This report creates the framework for us to plan and make informed decisions about road upgrades based on an objective and informed determination of the road conditions and estimated cost of recommended treatment options,” says Kalen-Sukra.
The study examined Salmo’s 14 kilometer road network, with a total estimated road surface area of 125,000 square meters and determined the condition of its 75 road segments. While 37 per cent of the village’s roads were rated as good or very good, 33 per cent were rated as fair and 22 per cent were rated as poor. Eight per cent of the village’s roads are unpaved.
Detailed paving treatment options to repair, restore and maintain existing road infrastructures were also made for priority roads.
“We donated our time and expertise to create the report as a way of giving back to a community in a region we have been fortunate to do business in,” says Tony Maida, Selkirk Paving’s operations manager. “Should this asset management tool produce new funding and projects for the municipality, we will be happy to bid on those projects.”