Road line painting contract signed for one year as County hopes prices will stabilize

The municipality has tendered for a single year instead of a multiple year pavement line-painting contract with an eye to allow rising material pricing to stabilize.

Council had previously expressed concern that line painting in the past few years did not last as long and directed staff to investigate other methods such as volatile organic compound (VOC).

Tanya Redden, construction and technical services supervisor, in her report to council, noted several conversations showed the industry standard is the waterborne paint as the VOC does not retain the glass beads as well, resulting in low reflectivity.

” In addition to this, supply is extremely limited due to a shortage in raw materials and the cost is significantly more, being approximately 30 per cent higher than waterborne,” Redden stated.

She also noted some neighbouring municipalities require a second mobilization for line painting to complete two coats on roadways that receive heavy traffic as they also notice a reduced life span in waterborne paint.

“Traffic volume increases and the regulations for bare road surfaces during winter seasons (resulting in
heavier sand/salt use and more plowing) also contribute to the reduced lifespan of line painting that can be seen over the last decade.”

Two bids were received for the line painting tender – the lowest at $338,422 from Apex Pavement Markings Inc. – within the operating budget allocation for line painting and pavement markings.