Failing cold mix in County subdivisions sparks lengthy conversation about how best to deal with it

A discussion on four subdivisions in Woodlands County and what could be done to improve the
road conditions turned into a lengthy portion of a recent Woodlands County Council meeting as
councillors wrangled with the options before them and how to use limited funds to get the best
bang for the resident’s bucks.
The four areas in question were the Westridge and Gibson subdivisions and access points for
Sagitawah Estates, Pine Meadows and Woodlands Estates. Director of Infrastructure Jeff Zhang
explained at the outset that past practices at Woodlands County had been to lay cold mix over
subdivision gravel to lower dust. “This methodology may be cost-effective when cold mix was
relatively cheap. However, since cold mix was placed over subgrade without a structural layer to
support it, the cold mix surface tends to reach its end of life in approximately five years,” he
explained.
In 2021, County staff began pulverizing cold mix subdivisions that couldn’t effectively be
managed, returning them to a gravel surface. Township Road 592, leading into the Pine
Meadows Subdivision, is one example of that practice. This year, the Westridge and Gibson
Subdivisions were identified as candidates for pulverization and work was supposed to start last
month, but the Council asked for more options instead.
In mid-July, Zhang provided those options. “When cold mix subdivision roads are manageable,
there are several strategies that can be deployed to manage their level of service. Given the
financial constraint, a pilot program is necessary to evaluate the efficacy of proposed strategies
and costs in providing a reasonable level of service,” said Zhang.
In Westridge, Zhang said many large potholes were making the driving surface rough. He said
there were also soft spots, and the road base appeared weak. “An option to increase the
strength of the road structure is preferred as that will be a necessary future expenditure with any
option we select,” said Zhang, adding that Westridge roads were in rougher shape than Gibson
roads and that the Gibson base appeared stable by comparison.
Woodlands County hired a consultant to review the areas and provide options, of which ten
were provided for the nearly three kilometres in both subdivisions. The options were very similar
between the two subdivisions, with prices averaging ten percent higher in Westridge than in
Gibson. Options ranged from under $100,000 to over one million, depending on how big of a
project Woodlands County Council wanted.
On the low end, the Council could choose to pulverize the roads down to gravel, with no dust
control, for $74,000 (Gibson) to $98,000 (Westridge), with a yearly cost of about $26,000.
Adding in dust control would increase both by about $18,000. On the high end, pulverization
and building a base with hot mix would set Woodlands County back about 1.1 million for
Westridge, or one million for Gibson, and cost around $100,000 per year to maintain, lasting
twenty years. Pulverization and building a base with cold mix was just under, coming in at
$940,740 (Westridge) or $858,620 (Gibson), with a similar yearly cost and a lifespan of fifteen
years. Most of the options would require Woodlands County to borrow money. “Therefore, these
options are not recommended at this time,” said Zhang.

For Westridge, Zhang recommended doing Cold in-Place Recycling as it would provide a hard
surface with a reasonable life span (eight years). The cost was estimated at just over $300,000
and $51,000 annually. Cold in-Place Recycling is a no-heat option that removes a thin layer of
the surface, pulverizes it down to a smaller particle, mixes it with a binding material, and places
it back on the road where it is compacted, creating a thicker layer than what was on it before.
“That’s where it’s going to gain a little bit more strength, and that’s why I’m estimating that it’s
going to last a few more years than the current,” said Zhang.
For Gibson, however, the administration recommended pulverizing it to gravel with the option for
dust control for $90,000, plus $41,000/year, because the rest of the options were higher than
the 2024 Cold Mix Budget of $650,000. A chunk of the budget, just under $200,000, was
previously set aside from the budget for hiring a consultant, leaving $458,000 for projects. The
total of the two was $395,000.
As for the other two stretches, the cost was much lower as the distances were shorter. The area
of concern on Township Road 592, leading into Pine Meadows and Woodlands Estates, was
just shy of a kilometre, and the administration recommended asphalt stabilization and cold mix
placement to be completed by County staff for $83,200.
Township Road 592A, the access point for Sagitawah Estates, had the smallest area (0.3 km)
and was recommended to be pulverized to gravel with dust abatement for just under $16,000.
Zhang explained that they expected to save $50,000 from the consultant’s review, giving them
enough cash to complete all four projects as recommended.
Council members quickly agreed on the work needed for the Westridge Subdivision, motioning
to approve it. However, the recommendations for the other three roads didn’t sit well, especially
for the Gibson Subdivision. Councillor John Burrows was concerned that the pilot project didn’t
provide a start and end date, which could give residents the impression that a now-gravel road
was a permanent fix rather than a step in a larger project. He said that residents have been very
patient already and that they need to be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
“I don’t think they’re going to have a problem with their road being ground up because at least
it’s smooth, because in a lot of the conversations I’m having, (they say) there are so many
potholes that they can’t dodge them and it’s wrecking their car. (They) want a surface (they) can
drive on. So, that’s a step in the right direction, but it’s certainly not a step that gets us back to a
hard surface, which is what they had,” he explained.
Zhang said they were awaiting an engineering report on all the County’s cold mix roads, which
they expect in early September. He said they would present it to the Council in mid-October,
along with options for how to fund it. Councillor Bruce Prestidge said the detailed plan was
important, agreeing with Burrows. “This is not going to be the ‘end all’ to fix these roads. It’s
going to be temporary. It might last two years, three years, four years. What we have to do is
have a plan to bring our roads up to where they are going to last ten, fifteen years.”
In the end, Woodlands County Council decided to have its administration bring back more
options for the Gibson Subdivision and table the work on Township Road 592 and 592A pending
the engineer’s report. The work approved for Westridge will take place through August.
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Westridge Subdivision residents should hopefully have a smoother road to drive on by the end
of this month. Several other areas remain in limbo, but a plan to get things on track is on the
way.