Returning Roads to Gravel - Pilot Project

UPDATE: Council did not approve the draft Returning Roads to Gravel Policy at its Committee of the Whole meeting on June 27. As a result, the program will not move forward.

The municipality wishes to thank everyone who participated in this engagement opportunity.

The County of Prince Edward is considering returning some surface treated roads to gravel in 2024 and beyond as part of a pilot project to provide smoother driving surfaces.

The municipality is responsible for maintaining over 1,100 kilometres of roads. Each year, the municipality invests 40 per cent of its entire budget on roads. While some roads see improvement each year, there are many other municipal roads that are deteriorating faster than the available resources to maintain them.

Many of the municipality's surface treated roads in rural areas have reached the end of their design service life and need to be resurfaced. However, full rehabilitation of roads each year is limited due to the high costs, which continue to increase every year. The municipality is using temporary patch material on many of these roads to extend their life; however, this approach is labour-intensive and expensive and still leaves the road in poor condition.

During the 2024 budget deliberations, County Council directed staff to prepare a report on candidate roads for returning to gravel, and what the operating budget, capital budget and asset management implications would be on the 2025 budget.

Have Your Say

Municipal staff members have completed a preliminary review and identified several roads that could either return to gravel permanently or return to gravel until they undergo full rehabilitation and new surface treatment in the future as part of the asset management plan.

Municipal staff have identified several roads as possible candidates for returning to gravel at some point in the future. The preliminary criteria used includes traffic volume, cost of maintenance, and the number of houses. Further review of some roads will take place to include the type of traffic on the road and the number of driveways. (For more information, click on the frequently asked questions section on the right hand side of this page).

Staff is asking for the public's feedback on this list of roads before presenting the final list for Council's consideration at the June 27 Committee of the Whole meeting. View the list below and provide your feedback.