Improvement work on Highway 40 will resume this spring and summer, after initial unsatisfactory repairs.
After the first work, carried out in August 2021 by the company Roxboro Excavation, problems with the road surface were observed and will have to be corrected, announced the Ministry of Transport in a press release. It was by having the bitumen used for the work analyzed between September and November that the ministry found that the quality of the material was lower than that specified in the contract. Thus, a higher level bitumen will have to be used for the second wave of works.
Experts were able to determine that two classes of bitumen had been mixed during the manufacture of the material, which explains its lower level.
Without patches, the bitumen could have worn out more quickly and would therefore have required further work in the near future. While some sections of the road have been coated with lower quality bitumen, this would not pose any danger to its users, the ministry said.
“A temporary payment holdback of $2.9 million was applied to the contractor. This holdback will be lifted once all conditions of the contract have been met. In addition, the contractor has agreed to pay an unconditional indemnity of $820,000 to the Department,” the statement read.
The works will be announced in advance to road users and will be carried out during the weekends.
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