Chatham-Kent’s gravel roads will again benefit from the full-on application of dust suppressant this summer.
At its April 13 meeting, council awarded Den-Mar Brines Ltd. a $1.2-million contract to complete the work in 2026.
Following a question from East Kent Coun. John Wright about an Oct. 1, deadline for application, council learned from C-K director of public works Ryan Brown that the work will be taking place as early in the season as possible.
“The overall intention as we’ve done in previous years is to try to get the first applications of dust suppressant down as quickly as possible,” Brown said. “But as I’ve said to council before, we do come back and do touch-up areas, spots we’ve graded and some that are very, very dry in the fall, so we may be asking this contractor to come out in September and that is the reason for the date.”
In speaking to the motion, South Kent Coun. Ryan Doyle said he wanted to make sure the public knows that dust suppressant will be applied this year.
“We will be starting at the beginning of this year (season) and I wanted to make sure the public is aware of that,” Doyle said.
The approval comes on the heels of last year’s controversy when the municipality voted to cease dust suppressant. That led to an outcry from farmers and rural dwellers across Chatham-Kent, who said road and pedestrian safety, as well as quality of life, were negatively impacted by billowing dust on gravel roads after the municipality removed the service.
The report states the scope of the work for the contract includes supplying and delivering liquid dust suppressants made up of calcium, magnesium and sodium chlorides to all 1,616 kilometres of Chatham-Kent’s gravel road network.
Council also approved the potential of renewing the contract with Den-Mar for 2027 and 2028, expected to cost $1,309,437 and $1,342,173, respectively.
The cost of dust suppressant will be shared equally by all taxpayers, as the service is not being area-rated.
