SUDBURY -- Bidding for a $1.5 million road repair project in Greater Sudbury came in more than $550,000 higher than expected, city council will hear next week.

Known as hot-in-place recycling (HIR), the plan was to repair four major sections of roadway:

  • 26,000 square feet of Kingsway Boulevard, from Falconbridge Road to Levesque Street (7.1 kilometres).
  •  25,000 square feet of MR35, from Clarabelle Road to Big Nickel Road (10.8 kilometres).
  • 20,000 square feet of Radar Road, from Skead Road to Pine Ridge Street (13.1 kilometres).
  • 9,000 square feet of Bancroft Drive, from the Kingsway to Bellevue Avenue (three kilometres).

However, with the higher bids, city staff is recommending council delay work on Bancroft Drive and reduce the scope of one of the other projects, which would allow the work to proceed under the existing budget.

"Staff is confident the work proposed in the reduced scope can be completed in 2020," the report said, adding Bancroft Drive would not have been done this year anyway because of delays in awarding the contract for the work.

Even with the higher bids, the report said the HIR process is still much cheaper than the traditional grind and pave approach.

30 per cent cheaper

"The prices received from three competitive bids from prequalified contractors represent good value and demonstrate interest from the construction community," the report said. "Prices received for the HIR treatment are at least 30 per cent lower than prices received for mill and pave projects."

City council could also vote to expand the budget by $550,000 so all projects could be included, or delay the entire project until next year, in hopes of getting more competitive bids.

HIR is a road repair process in which a section of the road is warmed up using propane heaters, then a claw is used to loosen the road further. Then new or recycled asphalt is applied with binding agents and rollers smooth the repaired road.

While extending the life of the road at a much lower cost, the HIR process is only good for roads with minor surface defects, not for ones with deep cracks or other serious rutting.

If approved at the Sept. 8 city council meeting, the work will be completed before the end of the 2020 construction season, weather permitting. It's being funded by $700,000 in gas tax funding from the federal government, with the rest from city funds.