Background

TBT Engineering Consulting Group was commissioned by Mitaanjigamiing First Nation to complete a preliminary study of the Mitaanjigamiing First Nation Access Road. The Mitaanjigamiing community is located approximately 12 km north of Fort Frances on Mitaanjigamiing Bay. Approximately 100 people residing in the Mitaanjigamiing community relied on the road for daily commuting. The purpose of the study was to address substandard alignment, grade, base and drainage elements and improve traffic safety. The study needed to evaluate the condition of the existing roadway and drainage facilities, develop alternative improvement strategies and associated costs, and recommend improvements.

TBT Engineering’s Role

As the consultant of record, TBT EngineeringLimited was tasked with assessing the existing access road and propose improvements based on an approximate construction budget of $ 4,000,000.00. TBTE completed a field review in the fall of 2011 along with preliminary geotechnical investigations, a preliminary natural science study and an engineering survey of the existing roadway to assist with the analysis of existing conditions and development of proposed roadway improvement strategies.

Review of the existing roadway conditions revealed the existing granular base, drainage elementsand roadway geometrics require significant improvements to safely accommodate road users. Based on the existing roadway geometrics and the anticipated construction budget, it was determined that a 40km/hr design speed will be the desirable standard for roadway improvements.

A geometric rating system was developed using the RLU 40 Design Standards and applied to the existing roadway to aid in determining the sections of road that were most substandard. Three categories of revisions were developed based on the availability of information and the revision strategy. Revision areas were then identified, prioritized and incorporated into two alternate roadway improvement strategies.

The final report provided recommendations for the rehabilitation of the existing access road including horizontal and vertical alignment revisions to address substandard geometrics, widening, drainage improvements, granular base, and the application of a low class bituminous surface treatment to increase surface friction.