MTO bolsters winter road maintenance staff 'to get the job done'

Morning North6:06Will fines lead to better winter road maintenance?

Last year, many plowing contractors in the northeast were fined thousands of dollars for not doing their job properly. Will those fines mean better highway maintenance this year? Reporter Martha Dillman tackles this question in part two of her highway maintenance series.

An official with the ministry of transportation says it’s improving oversight of winter highway maintenance this year.

Last year, all the companies contracted to maintain the highways in northeastern Ontario were fined for not meeting ministry standards.

• Fines for MTO winter road maintenance contractors top $650K

The infractions ranged from slippery conditions, to not getting equipment on the roads in a timely fashion.

This winter, the ministry said it will have more staff to deal with winter road maintenance.

“We’ve got a very tight focus on winter maintenance,” Gordan Rennie, regional issues adviser with the ministry said.

“We did hear from people last year … to keep the focus on that.”

Rennie said that focus includes more staff, as a director of winter road maintenance has now been brought in for the province.

In addition, Rennie said each region in the province now has a maintenance engineer as well.

“Working with our staff, working with the contractors to make sure that we’re on track to get the job done,” he said.

“So … the contracts are very robust and very detailed, but we’ve got some extra eyes there on the ministry side to make sure that we keep things going.”

Rennie also points out the province added 42 additional pieces of equipment last winter.

There may be more changes coming, as Rennie said Minister of Transportation, Steven Del Duca, will be making an announcement in the next few weeks.

In the meantime, Sudbury New Democrat MPP Joe Cimino said he’ll be keeping a close eye on whether the increase in staff and equipment will make a difference.

“That’s something I’ll be watching for and really questioning,” he said.

Awaiting additional information

Earlier this year, the Progressive Conservatives requested the province’s auditor general look into winter highway maintenance.

Bonnie Lysyk agreed, and her office is currently working on the report.

Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli said he’s looking forward to seeing the audit to learn the facts.

“We’re going to learn two things,” he said. “Number one: are the standards proper, and number two: are they being met.”

Auditor general Lysyk said the report is expected to be released next year in the spring.