Wellington County and its project team were presented with a provincial award for an innovative solution to a drainage problem.
The 2023 John Niedra Better Practices Award was presented to the County at the Ontario Good Roads Association Conference. The award highlights a municipality’s ability to adapt and innovate to unique and challenging conditions by solving problems inventively.
Wellington County earned the honour with its use of cellular concrete lightweight fill to reduce the load of the road structure on two sections of Wellington Road 32 in Puslinch. The innovative solution allowed the County to raise the road grade to fix drainage issues and also possibly extend the life of the road surface.
“I’d like to congratulate the County’s Road Division on their 2023 John Niedra Better Practices Award,” said Warden Andy Lennox in a release. “It’s wonderful to have the County’s important work recognized at the provincial level.”
The County plans to conduct extensive geotechnical testing over the next year to see if the half-load restriction on Lake Road is still needed.
“Incorporating the light-weight cellular concrete fill on this project was an innovative way to address the need to reconstruct a road in challenging conditions,” commented Gregg Davidson, County Roads Committee Chair. “Reducing maintenance requirements and extending the pavement service life are great benefits of this project.”