REGINA -- I’ve often said there are just two seasons in Saskatchewan: Winter and road repair. As I write this piece, we’re entering the latter. The province and City of Regina are both set to embark on major roadway repairs over the next few months.

John was #JustCurious how highway crews know where to cut and fill seams on a stretch of road and how the schedule is determined.

The Ministry of Highways says they base their highway preservation efforts on the age of the pavement. It must be an impressive spreadsheet on a server somewhere!

The Ministry calls sealing cracks one of their first measures to extend the life of a highway. Cracks in the pavement form afterit experiences that freeze-thaw cycle we see several times a year in Saskatchewan. The Ministry points to studies that show that the best time to repair of a road and fill cracks to keep moisture out is in the three to five year age range.

Once they arrive at a roadway, workers can usually see the weak points and make a call as to where to cut. Crews will then use rubberized asphalt to fill cracks and prevent further damage. Highway workers that you and I will see hard at work this spring and summer will route, dust the debris with compressed air, then fill in the cracks with the aforementioned filler. The material does differ depending on the roadway as some are more resistant to low temperatures.