BARRHEAD - County of Barrhead council awarded close to $200,000 in road maintenance contracts to a Western Canadian company during its May 6 meeting.
The first contract, for crack sealing, is for $107,010, while the second is for the line painting of the county's paved highways and the runway at the Johnson Industrial Airport. Similarly, the second contract for line painting is for all the municipality's paved roadways, including the previously mentioned runway.
Infrastructure director Ken Hove said crack sealing, which the county conducts annually, is important to the health of its roadways as it helps preserve the integrity of the road base beneath the surface by keeping water out, increasing the hardtop's lifespan.
In the 2025 Capital Budget, which councillors approved at their April 15 meeting, public works had set aside $114,500, with $4,000 dedicated to the airport.
Hove noted they received five bids for the work, ranging from a low of $83,916 from Crosslane Asphalt Maintenance from La Crete to a high of $278,230 from Acheson-based ACP Applied Products.
In 2024, he said the county opted to go with Alberta Parking Lot Services, which used a cold-pour product.
Before that, the municipality used Marshall Lines, which utilized a pour crack sealant product.
"For highway sealing, either a hot or cold pour product can be used. Hot pour typically creates a better seal and lasts longer, is a better product, and you get more longevity out of it," Hove said, adding the 2024 results bear that out. "The results were poorer than the previous years, and the contractor had to redo several roads due to the inadequate performance."
Hove said public works recommended going with Marshall Lines, the lowest bidder of those using hot-pour materials.
Line painting program
The county completes its line painting program every three years, the last time being in 2022.
"With the sanding, plowing, and the traffic, the lines get to the point where they are not very visible and need to be repainted," he said.
Hove added that they posted a request for bids via the Alberta Purchasing Connection, a website dedicated to public sector procurement, receiving three bids, ranging from the lowest from Marshall Lines 2014 at $89,711 to Alberta Parking Lot Services at $137,807.
Hove said the work includes roughly 82 kilometres of highway lines and about the centre line for about half a kilometre of paved road in the Hamlet of Neerlandia. Also included in the bids are the lettering, traffic lines and large landing bar markings at the airport.
The 2025 Capital budget earmarked $90,000 for the project.
"Marshall Lines has done the lines for the county before, so we know they do a good job," Hove said.
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
