Road 38 Construction Planning Proceeding To The Next Phase

Jeff Green | Jun 12, 2024

A public open house is scheduled for later this month to present plans for the rebuild of Road 38.

The section of road runs 5.8 kilometres, from the southern township border with Kingston at Orser Road, up to Kingston Road, at the foot of Harrowsmith.

The cost of reconstruction has gone up since the last time major construction on the road took place. The entire Central Frontenac section of the road, almost 34 kilometres, was done just under 20 years ago for about $8 million.

The 5.8 kilometre section in South Frontenac, has an estimated cost of $7.1 million. Fortunately for South Frontenac, the 5-year road plan that the township set out in 2023, included $7.1 million over two years for Road 38 reconstruction, so the impact of the new construction is not likely to put extra pressure on the tax rate over the next couple of years.

When the Central Frontenac portion was done, an Ontario infrastructure grant helped make the project possible, but it still resulted in a debenture that took the township over 10 years to pay off.

One of the major costs in the reconstruction plan is the replacement of a culvert where the road crosses Murvale Creek.

Two options are being considered for the replacement: a concrete box culvert or a metal culvert, and the estimated cost of that part of the project is $1.76 million.

The study into the project included consideration of the need for a passing lane somewhere within the 5.8 kilometre stretch, which would have greatly increased the cost and complexity of the project.

To determine whether a passing lane is warranted, the study considered the collision summary for the road.

During the collision study period, there were 12 collisions, including 6 single vehicle collisions, and 4 collisions that took place at one location, the Yarker Road/Gorr Road/Road 38 intersection, and found no pattern pointing to any specific causes.

The study also used the “TAC Geometric Design Guide for Canadian Roads”.

There are two main criteria that this guide looks at: percentage of time vehicles are following each other, and overall density on the road.

The Design Guide recommends that passing lanes be introduced if the density reaches a prescribed level and the percentage of time vehicles are following exceeds 70%.

The study looked at three subsections of road: Murton to Yarker/Gorr, Yarker/Gorr to Quinn, and Quinn to Wilton; in the AM and PM peak times, in both the southbound and northbound lanes.

According to current data, there are two sections that are at the prescribed level of density, both during the PM peak. They are northbound from Murton to Yarker/Gorr and northbound from Quinn to Wilton. Both of those sections are close to the 70% passing time criteria, but just shy. In the case of Murton to Yarker/Gore it is 69.9%.

The study also projects the density in future years, based on traffic trends, and concludes that more sections will be close to the level of density where a passing lane is recommended by 2033, and a number will be over that level by 2046.

Since the road will be due for its next reconstruction phase in 2046, the study recommends looking at passing lanes at that time, but not now.

The current plan is to reclaim the current asphalt into the existing base of the road, apply granular material, and new courses of asphalt, a binder course and a surface course. The current lane and shoulder widths are to be maintained, and the shoulders will be paved.

The Design Study Open House is scheduled for Wednesday, June 26 from 6pm-8pm at the Harrowsmith Free Methodist Church.

After the meeting, a final design will be prepared and presented to Council.

The project was originally scheduled to get underway in 2024 and be completed by 2025, but the money budgeted to be spent in 2024 ($2.45 million) has been transferred to reserves. The project is more likely to be underway in 2025, with the most extensive work and project completion in 2026.

According to the Road Needs Study that the township completed in early 2023, the 16.7 kilometres of Road 38 between Kingston Road and the township’s border with Central Frontenac, remained in good condition and does not require replacement yet.