John Finn said the Department of Transportation and Works staff is aware of the cracking on the Hansen Highway and in addition to the road being monitored, the work has a two-year warranty.
“While it’s extremely unfortunate to see the condition of the road, it’s better to see it now than five or 10 years from now when the warranty is gone,” he said.
Finn said in terms of asphalt quality, the provincial government piloted a program in consultation with the Heavy Civil Association in the fall of 2017 for testing asphalt mixes.
He said they did five different 900-meter sections on the Avalon Peninsula, each using a different blend of asphalt.
Finn said these sections are being tested twice a year for varying levels of compaction and general wear and tear with respect to weather conditions.
“The hope is to determine the best mix and what’s the most durable,” he said.
Finn said in June of 2017 the Auditor General put out a report on the conditions of the highways in the province, which was a review of work done from 2002 to 2015.
He said one of the biggest things to come out of the report was that the “tack coat” had stopped being used, which has now been reinstituted.
Meanwhile, he expects Department of Transportation and Works officials to be talking with Marine Contractors Inc. about the situation on Hansen Highway.
Mark Hutchinson of Marine Contractors Inc. said the company has no comment at this time as they first want to do an assessment of the road.
