County Public Works gets kudos

Coutesy of Northumberland County

By Cecilia Nasmith

Though Deputy Mayor Mandy Martin has been a vocal critic of Northumberland County's Public Works department, she had nothing but praise for them at the March county council meeting for saving $724,620 on eight recent infrastructure projects.

Though pavement marking went over budget by 14%, all seven of the other projects had savings ranging from 8% to 43%.

Martin focused on the 30% savings on the Lot 9 Concession 16 culvert project, and asked Director of Public Works Denise Marshall for details.

“I think it shows amazing innovation in terms of engineering and how things are approached,” Martin said.

This was a project on County Road 25, Marshall said, a very deep culvert of more than two metres in diameter, located seven metres below the road. Replacement of the culvert would have been a significant cost and scope, forcing the road to close completely for some period.

They looked at a process that would structurally reline the culvert. In the end, it kept one lane of traffic open at all times, cut costs significantly, and still resulted in an extended lifespan for the culvert of 40 more years.

A replacement would have resulted in 50 years, but would have closed down the road and cost more than $1.2-million.

“Things are happening in Public Works, and I think they are really stepping up and examining how things are done and the cost, and I praise you for that,” Martin said.

“You are rising to your real potential.”