Melfort's city crews have been busy patching potholes over the last few days. (Cam Lee/northeastNOW Staff)

By Cam Lee

Potholes in Melfort

Pothole patching continues in Melfort

May 13, 2020 | 1:00 PM

City of Melfort crews continue to work to patch the potholes that have developed over the past months.

The employees have been out repairing Melfort’s streets, while also keeping proper social distancing in mind during the work.

Mayor Rick Lang told northeastNOW it’s important for the city to continue to take care of day-to-day tasks, while still working within Saskatchewan Health Authority COVID-19 parameters.

“We’re trying to keep life as normal as possible, and when potholes develop and they are identified, we go in and we try to minimize the impact of any potholes and so we’re trying to get to that as quickly as we possibly can and do as much as we can,” Lang said.

City crews are also working on three water main breaks in Melfort, which has kept them busy.

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Lang said the city had to make a few adjustments to its capital budget, but the plan is to move forward on the majority of projects.

“It’s been a little bit of a challenge to make sure that the things that need to be done can get done, but life doesn’t stop just because we’re in this situation, so we deal with it as best as we can,” Lang said.

He said the city is using its hot mix patching, which is more permanent than the cold mix they use at the start of spring.

The city purchased a hot mix patcher for around $80,000 a few years ago, and Lang said it has been a game-changer.

“When you use that type of a mix, it’s way more permanent, it stays in [the pothole] a lot better,” Lang said. “With the cold mix, you can pound it in as best as you can, but after a couple of weeks it gets pounded out.”

There are a number of streets that are in rough shape in Melfort, but don’t expect a full road replacement any time soon. The city is still awaiting word on whether it will receive grant money from the federal Investing in Canada Infrastructure Plan for a significant water line replacement project.

Lang said it doesn’t make sense to rehabilitate a road, only to have to do the same thing again in a year or two should they be able to replace the aging water lines underneath the road.

“We are not planning any road repair unless it’s in conjunction with water line replacement,” Lang said.

If the city is approved for federal grant money, Lang added they are ‘ready to go’ to begin their water line replacement project.

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cam.lee@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @camlee1974