Spring information from your Public Works and Fixed Assets Department

Winter may still be clinging on a little, but spring is here and the entire public works team is already hard at work on its annual tasks!

Thaw period and dirt road maintenance

As we experienced few freeze-thaw cycles this winter, our dirt roads suffered less damage than expected, which is good news. As a result, our crews will be tackling the following tasks as soon as possible and in the usual way:

• As soon as the weather permits, the paths will be scraped to smooth out the center;
• From May 15, once the thaw period has passed, they will be reloaded with gravel;
• Around May 20, they’ll receive dust suppressant.

Consult the Ministère des Transports ‘ information on the thaw period.

Work in progress

In the meantime, our teams have already begun :

• Replace culverts;
• Clean ditches;
• Plan the sweeping of asphalt roads: the public works team has just acquired a new broom and will now take over this service, which was previously outsourced. Sweeping of our roads will begin in the coming weeks, to enable pedestrians and cyclists to take advantage of the shoulder strips;
• Plan the paving of damaged sections of our municipal roads, starting in June.

Information about our provincial asphalt roads

As you know, some of our roads are under the responsibility of the Ministère des Transports* (MTQ), which maintains them year-round:

• The largest potholes were filled in March, on a temporary basis due to winter temperatures;
• As soon as the weather warms up, by the end of April or May, more permanent manual patching of the asphalt will be carried out.

*Provincial roadson Sutton territory: route 139 (rue Principale), route 215 (beginning of rue Academy/rue Pleasant/chemin de la Vallée), rue Maple, part of chemin Scenic and part of chemin de la Vallée Missisquoi.

Compost

We are pleased to inform you that, as every year, bulk compost will be made available to Sutton residents on the Town-owned lot near 33 Western Street (Villa des Monts): the delivery date will be Monday, May 5.

• To respect the peace and quiet of local residents, we ask you to pick up compost only Monday to Friday, between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. and Saturday between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
• Citizens may take a maximum of 1^m3 (1.^3yd3) per person, and must bring all the tools needed to handle and transport the compost.
• Since the compost is of “all-purpose compost” quality, foreign bodies may be present. We recommend that you wear gloves when handling the product.

Free compost is available year-round at the Cowansville Ecocentre, directly at the composting platform and during business hours.

Don’t flush wipes down the toilet!

Our water management foreman has alerted us to a problem that could affect our entire wastewater treatment network: many wipes end up in the sewers, blocking the pumps and clogging up the pipes, resulting in significant costs.

Even if some wipes are indicated as biodegradable, if in doubt, we ask all occupants of residences connected to the municipal sewer system not to flush wipes down the toilet, PLEASE! This will avoid any problems.

Wipes can do just as much damage to the system in homes with septic fields: our advice is to apply the same restriction and not flush any wipes down the toilet.

Thank you for your cooperation!

We invite you to report any road problems by e-mail to [email protected].