What About Our Roads?

We are all excited to see that work on #559 has begun; this is a provincial project under MTO. The Township is undertaking work on Blind Bay Road this year to improve drainage and tar and chip surface.

As ratepayers in Carling Township, we collectively own a number of assets: roads, bridges, parks, and facilities. The municipality manages those assets on our behalf, keeping them in good working order and replacing them as needed. The Asset Management Plan 2024 directs infrastructure funding from tax dollars and senior levels of government to the areas that need it most. Road maintenance and construction costs continue to rise with the rising price of oil (and oil products used to make gravel, tar, chip, and asphalt), but good roads are among the most important services the township supports.

As assessed in this Asset Management Plan, the total replacement cost of Carlings' assets is calculated to be approximately $49 million (2024 Dollars) for the roads, structures, buildings, vehicles, equipment, and recreation asset categories. Our new fire hall (2026) will add to this asset value.

Our assets include 88 km of managed roads, 9.5 km are paved, 53 km are tar and chip, and 26 km are gravel. A road maintenance schedule is attached to each budget year. You can find that schedule on the Carling Township website.

The strategy developed within the Asset Management Plan can be summarized with the following conclusions:

• The annual reinvestment should be an average of $ 1.1 million per year over the next 10 years in order to sustain existing services at an appropriate level of service. Between 2021 and 2023, the Township has spent an annual average of approximately $ 2.6 million on capital assets, indicating that upcoming investment needs are within the quantity of historical funding.