Nearly nine kilometers of grid roads in the northern part of Corman Park should be smoother by the end of the summer.

At its May 25 video-conference meeting, the RM of Corman Park Council awarded a contract for removal and compaction of rocks along 8.7 kilometers of various grid roads in the vicinity of Warman, Martensville and Osler to Arnold Earthmoving Ltd.

The winning bid, at $196,500, was the lowest of four tendered in a competition earlier this spring.

When construction engineering, design engineering and provincial sales tax are added in, the total cost of the project is $240,090. The RM had originally allocated $270,000 in this year’s budget for rock mulching.

The roads earmarked for attention under the program include:

* 3.2 kilometers of Township Road 394 west of Osler between Range Road (RR) 3045 and RR 3051;

*1.6 kilometers of Township Road 394 between RR 3041 and RR 3042;

*0.7 kilometers of road alongside Highway 305 near RR 3052;

* 1.6 kilometers of Township Road 384 between RR 3043 and RR 3044;

* 1.6 kilometers of RR 3044 north of Township Road 382.

The rock mulching project is part of the Corman Park 2020 construction program.

Another major project in this year’s program is the application of a concentrated liquid stabilizer to a 3.2 kilometer stretch of Township Road 374 east of Highway 684 (Dalmeny Access Road, also known as RR 3062). The application is aimed at revitalizing that section of the heavily-travelled roadway.

The concentrated liquid stabilizer to be used in the project is called ‘EMC Squared’. It is designed to increase the density, cementation, moisture resistance, frost heave resistance, bearing strength, shear strength and stability of compacted earth materials on the gravel surface of the road.

According to a report by the RM of Corman Park Public Works department presented to the RM council at the May 25 meeting, the highly-concentrated, environmentally-friendly product is applied to the road surface after being diluted with water

After it is applied, the road surface resembles a thin asphalt surface, thereby greatly reducing dust. It is not pavement, and will break down over time. However, it is very cost effective and requires less maintenance than untreated gravel, according to the public works report. Other municipalities, both rural and urban, have used the application with good results.

A contract to apply the EMC Squared liquid stabilizer to Township Road 374 was warded to Finn Construction Ltd, which had the lowest of four bids submitted during a competition earlier this spring.

The Finn Construction Ltd. bid was $196,060. When materials, engineering and provincial tax is added, the total cost of the project is $414,046. The RM had allocated a total of $600,000 in this year’s budget for roadway soil stabilization projects.