MOOSE JAW — City hall will apply dust control liquid to three kilometres of gravel roads this year, including to
The public works and utilities (PWU) branch will spray magnesium chloride on several gravel streets to help neutralize dust, improve drivability and enhance maintenance efforts, explained Bevan Harlton, director of operations, during a recent budget meeting.
Data shows that the City of Moose Jaw manages 51.5 kilometres of gravel roads and 95.6 kilometres of gravel and paved alleys, he continued. While it’s possible to pave some of those roads — “the will to improve and change is there” — the issue has been money.
For example, it would cost $175 per square metre to pave a gravel industrial road, so if the municipality paved 1,400 metres of Caribou Street East from 11th Avenue East to Highway 1, that would start at $3 million, the operations director pointed out.
So, city hall is relying on magnesium chloride to tamp down dust on certain roads, with crews applying 1.8 litres per square metre last year on Caribou Street East, 12th Avenue Northwest, 16th Avenue Northwest and Manitoba Street West near the ball diamonds and dog park, Harlton’s report said.
That cost 72 cents per square metre, along with internal resources and expenses for site preparation and watering.
Harlton told council that his department met regularly with the Rural Municipality of Moose Jaw last year to discuss projects, issues and challenges, which proved valuable as they addressed many problems “before they became contentious.”
The department also learned that, since 2014, the RM has consistently used magnesium chloride on its gravel roads, making it the largest municipal user in Saskatchewan, Harlton continued. That’s great news for the city because it now has a nearby partner willing to support its dust control efforts.
According to the RM, in 2019, it spent $5,164 per kilometre to maintain a gravel road, but those costs decreased by 78 per cent using magnesium chloride, the report said. Moreover, graders went from making 10 to 17 maintenance passes annually to two to three trips, while such roads required 50-per-cent less gravel.
In 2019, it also cost the RM roughly $9,210 per kilometre to apply two 1.8-litre-per-square-metre applications, so city hall believes the “theoretical cost” for a similar application in Moose Jaw is $1,136 per kilometre.
Public works is reviewing locations where it can apply this liquid, including streets near RM roads, commercial areas, school zones and health-care centres, the report continued. The city estimates that two applications on three kilometres of gravel roads will cost $45,000.
The document added that by the end of 2025, the city will compare the traditional costs of gravel road maintenance with maintenance using magnesium chloride.
Coun. Dawn Luhning pointed out that council received an informal petition last year from . She wondered if other areas had also complained, while she noted that if public works prioritized commercial areas this year, she wanted that street done first.
“That’s an absolutely fair position. That’s a location I intend to complete next year, is that area of Stad (because) it’s a commercial location,” said Harlton. “It’s immediately adjacent to Thatcher Drive, which is a critical arterial road. So that work will occur there.”
He added that other locations have complained about dust issues and his department would consider them too.
Luhning hoped Harlton kept his word, saying she didn’t want to hear from those Stadacona businesses in the fall that the work hadn’t been done. She pointed out that the dust is awful on that street in the summer, especially when it’s hot.
She added that city hall should communicate directly with those businesses when the magnesium chloride program begins so they understand the plan.
Public works may delay applying the dust control liquid on the 1700 block of Stadacona Street West because it must first complete other upgrades there, including drainage and ditch work, said Harlton. However, that work won’t affect the 1600 block, so magnesium chloride could go there.
