Prince Edward County and the contractor doing road work on County Road 3 have developed a plan to address unexpected issues that arose last week.
As part of the road rehabilitation project, the existing asphalt surface was removed exposing the underlying granular road base.
Once traffic was directed onto the temporary gravel surface, crews observed rapid deterioration caused by moisture within the road structure which resulted in rutting and uneven driving conditions.
As a result, the construction zone has been reconfigured to a single alternating lane controlled by temporary traffic signals.
The municipality is taking the following measures:
- The municipality has directed the contractor to excavate the soft material on both the north and south sides of the existing concrete roadway.
- A geotextile separation fabric and geogrid reinforcement will be installed over the native subgrade before placing new granular road base. This treatment will stabilize the roadway structure by preventing the underlying clay soils from migrating into the new granular material.
- The existing concrete roadway remains structurally sound and will remain in place as part of the final road structure.
The temporary traffic signals will need to remain in place until later next week. The current total signal cycle is approximately five minutes.
The unforeseen issue will likely extend the original project schedule by two weeks. Work will continue into the middle of September. The project was originally scheduled to be complete by September 1.
The additional costs associated with this work will be covered through the project’s contingency allowance.
Prior to construction, municipal staff and the consultant reviewed the geotechnical information from the previous phases of County Road 3 rehabilitation. The soil and material below the surface appeared to be consistent with what was encountered on the previous phases.
However, the way the material behaved after the asphalt was removed was significantly different from the previous phases. The reason for this difference remains unclear. The project team will continue to examine the issues and apply any lessons learned as the municipality designs the next phase of County Road 3 rehabilitation from Civic Address 1668 to Brickworks Drive. That work is tentatively scheduled to begin in 2027.
The municipality and the contractor will continue to closely monitor progress on the project and provide updates to the community.
