City Explains Government Road Delays

As anyone who drives in the northwest part of Weyburn can attest, the milling and paving are not yet complete for the portion of Government Road that required full replacement of the water main and sewer line connections.

Mayor Roy explained the reasons for the delays.

“This wet weather is not cooperating whatsoever with us trying to get a two-inch cap on Government Road before winter,” Roy said. “It just keeps raining or snowing, and with this really wet snow that we’ve had, we simply can’t cap when the roads are so soft. It has to have some drying time.”

He said the forecast is hopeful, however, for having the work done before too long.

“Our Engineer is very optimistic with Discover Weyburn’s forecast for a dry two weeks coming up here, after all this, and we hope with the drying, the road will dry out and we’ll get a good two-inch cap and get that sealed up before winter,” he said.

The work just simply can not be completed with wet conditions.

“The bottom substructure has to be dry and firm before we can start sealing it off,” said Roy.

“This summer we didn’t see any rain at all, so it was an excellent time for roadwork out on the highways, but now with wet weather and in the seasons when there’s rain for a couple of days and it dries, and then it rains again a couple of days later, they just have an awful time trying to get it packed good enough to be able to put the asphalt down,” he explained. “We in Saskatchewan here fight with the elements all the time and most of the time the elements win.”

Superintendent of Public Works, Claude Morin, said the work wasn’t as simple as a typical residential water main replacement. All of the sewer line connections were also replaced. Moreover, in addition to being a primary street in Weyburn, it’s also a portion of Highway 35.

“We’re doing a lot more work there than just the water main,” said Morin. “Being it’s a highway as well, it’s created quite an inconvenience for the community over the course of the summer, but at the end of the day, we’ll have a nice new infrastructure there, and it should pay dividends down the road.”

He said the base work that has to be done to prepare for the asphalt is considerable, due to the heavy truck traffic. In comparison to a residential street, the job has to meet the specifications of standard highway infrastructure.

“We have to make sure we get it right, because it is a main thoroughfare through the city, as well as a highway,” said Morin. “Not that we’re not going to do a good job on a residential street, but things are a little bit different specifications than on a residential street.”

While it indeed has not been easy for Weyburn residents to endure a summer without the major thoroughfare, with some patience, and possibly some divine weather intervention, the City anticipates seeing the Government Road project come to a completion in time for winter.