Roads & Drainage

Roads & Drainage

The Roads and Drainage division of Engineering and Public Works maintains the 254 kilometres of roads within the Town. Our crews coordinate roads and drainage related activities from the Works yard in Ravenna, located at 490611 Grey 2. Our crew performs general roadside maintenance during the summer while the prime responsibilities of the crews are winter control operations, such as plowing and sanding the roads.

Roads and Drainage Related Permits Information

In our ongoing effort to ensure the safety of our residents and visitors, permits are required for construction related activity. The purpose of a permit is to ensure that Town staff are aware of any and all conditions which may arise as a result of construction related activity.  The following is a  list of commonly requested permits.  

Entrance Permit

Any work on Town property requires notification to the Town and required permits*.

Moving Heavy Vehicle Permit

For moving heavy vehicles on municipal highways in excess of dimensional limits or weights prescribed, an annual permit is required*.

Municipal Land Works Permit

Each person, firm or utility requiring to make an excavation or works on a Town road in The Blue Mountains, shall apply to the Town Public Works Department for a permit for the proposed work*.

Fees and charges

For information on fees and charges for a range of Engineering and Public Works permits and services, please view the Fees and Charges Document*.

* All documents referenced above are available for download in the Downloads Section on the right-hand side of the page.

What you Need to Know About Tar and Chip Season in The Blue Mountains

The Town of The Blue Mountains utilizes “tar and chip” paving on many of its roads. Also known as “chip seal” or “single and double surface treatment”,  tar and chip paving is used on rural roads with low to medium volumes of traffic as a more cost effective and durable alternative to asphalt concrete paving.

What is tar and chip?

Tar and chip roads look similar to asphalt concrete roads but have some differences. Both pavement surfaces use asphalt cement bitumen (Tar) and Aggregates (Chip). Asphalt concrete road surfaces are mixed in a central plant and shipped to the road site hot and mixed for paving. However, tar and chip pavement involves evenly applying hot asphalt cement tar onto a roadway, followed by an even layer of angular aggregate stones which is rolled into place. The stones are further compacted and pushed into the asphalt cement tar over time by the traffic on the roadway. As a result, for a period of weeks or months following the application of tar and chip to a roadway, there is some loose crushed stone on top of the road surface. Depending on the heat of the summer and traffic, the road will eventually resemble the asphalt concrete roads in higher traffic areas.

If you live on a tar and chip road, or drive on a tar and chip road, what can you expect?  

 Maintenance on your tar and chip road may occur every 5 to 7 years between May 15th and September 1st. This will involve repaving one layer of tar and chip (single surface treatment). Roads which are being newly paved will receive two successive layers of tar and chip (double surface treatment). Town road maintenance staff may sweep the road
several weeks or months following the initial application of tar and chip in order to reduce the loose stone. These brief periods of inconvenience will be followed by a road surface similar to an asphalt concrete road for a period of 5 to 7 years. 

What can you do to help ensure a high quality tar and chip road?

When your road has been recently paved using tar and chip technology, we ask that you not sweep the road during the period when the chip is loose. Sweeping
may result in a poor wearing surface and an unsafe road condition. The most helpful
thing you can do is reduce your vehicle speed. This will help reduce the disturbance
of stone on the roadway to ensure a clean even surface as well as minimizing dust from
the road.
 
If you have questions about the tar and chip process, please call The Blue Mountains Roads and Drainage Division at 519-599-6714.

 

Contacts

Jim McCannell

Manager of Roads & Drainage
519-599-3131 x271
jmccannell@thebluemountains.ca

Heather Drane

Clerk / Receptionist
519-599-3131 x276
hdrane@thebluemountains.ca

Links

Downloads

download the free adobe pdf reader at get.adobe.com/readerdownload the free Adobe pdf reader at get.adobe.com/reader
All documents found on our website can be made available in other accessible formats where practicable and upon request.
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