Township says contractor on hook for warped roads in Fergus and Elora

CENTRE WELLINGTON – The township is holding a contractor responsible for the rough ride on two newly rebuilt streets in Centre Wellington.

Drivers on St. David Street North in Fergus and Colborne Street in Elora were met by warped asphalt and a bumpy ride on the freshly paved streets when they reopened late on Dec. 23 and 24, respectively.

“Road conditions for the road base and paving were not ideal,” township infrastructure manager Colin Baker told the Advertiser by phone.

The resulting “deficiencies,” he added, are on Drexler Construction to fix later this year.

The Guelph/Eramosa-based contractor was hired in 2024 and 2025 to overhaul the roads for a total of $9.2 million.

Base asphalt was laid on a layer of frozen gravel during December cold spells, according to Baker, who said frost that spread through the granular material caused the road to buckle.

“They weren’t able to smooth it out properly because it was frozen,” Baker said.

He added in a follow-up email that paving couldn’t wait because the gravel roadbed would become degraded with traffic, potentially causing damage to newly installed infrastructure underground.

Donn Bernal, a technical advisor with the Ontario Road Builders’ Association, said winter paving is a common and accepted practice in the right conditions.

Ontario Provincial Standard Specifications, which set guidelines for laying asphalt, state base asphalt paving shouldn’t be done on a frozen roadbed and temperatures should be at least 2 degrees Celcius and rising.

Bernal, who is uninvolved in the road projects and spoke generally, said freshly paved roads in the wintertime can become warped during freeze-thaw cycles as moisture trapped in the gravel expands and contracts.

Bernal also noted defects, such as undulating waves and ridges, can arise from a roadbed settling unevenly as it freezes and thaws, from poor compaction from cool asphalt, and from a paver speeding and slowing when asphalt is laid.

Public consultations on St. David Street North’s redesign began in 2021, with work on the overall $9.25-million project – including $2.5 million from the province – starting in 2024.

Colborne Street had fallen into disrepair and aging water pipes underground needed replacing, with work to overhaul the roadway between Wilson Crescent and John Street beginning last summer.

Drexler outbid four others for the two-part reconstruction of St. David Street North in Fergus at $7 million. Other companies' bids ranged between $7.6 and $9.1 million.

And for Colborne Street, Drexler outbid five others at $2.2 million; other bids came in between $2.3 and $2.8 million.

The projects involved major overhauls, particularly for St. David Street North, which included replacing underground infrastructure, adding sidewalks and curbs, paving new lanes, landscaping and other work.

The first portion of the Fergus road, covering St. Andrew Street downtown to just beyond Garafraxa Street, was completed in 2024.

The second portion, continuing north from Garafraxa Street to Edinburgh Avenue, was to be largely completed by Dec. 12, with surface asphalt to be laid this summer.

Reached by phone, Jerome Drexler of Drexler Construction told the Advertiser laying asphalt in the winter isn’t ideal.

But it’s construction, he said, and sometimes things don’t happen when you want.

Drexler declined to comment on the rough roads, saying he didn’t want his words twisted in the newspaper.

“Listen, I don’t want to talk about this at all,” he said.

Drexler said the company doesn’t need to account publicly for the work because the project was overseen by the township.

“They’re there everyday watching us do our work,” he said.

The township can say what it wants, Drexler said, adding “it'll be all fine in the end” with the roads once work is completed this summer.

“Ask the town, that’s all I’m going to say,” he said before hanging up.

Baker said roadwork typically ends in the winter, but Drexler Construction fell behind after difficulties commissioning a water main for St. David Street North, along with workforce challenges and material delivery delays for Colborne Street. (Drexler also declined to comment on delays.)

Baker defended the timing of the job tenders (February and March), and approved project timelines.

The contractor controls how a project progresses, he argued, while the township ensures standards and specifications are met.

Township inspectors were present at both jobs, according to Baker, ensuring those requirements were met.

Materials were tested, and asphalt met engineering and compaction standards, according to Baker.

Now the township is reviewing what exactly went wrong.

“There is some work underway by our staff to see how we can avoid this in the future,” he said.

“In the meantime, we’ve got a number of deficiencies that will need to be corrected, and will be corrected, in the spring and summer.”

Sidewalks, curbs, bike lanes, surface paving and other work have yet to be completed in Fergus.

And in Elora, sidewalks, curbs, grading and surface paving remains unfinished.

Defects on both Centre Wellington roads will be resolved at no additional cost to taxpayers, Baker said.

The roads are projected to be complete between July and August.

Senior Ministry of Transportation staffer Meaghan Evans stated in an email the township is responsible for delivery and quality of the project, which was funded in part by the province’s Connecting Links Program.

Evans said the province “will continue working with Centre Wellington to ensure all standards and requirements are met when final construction is complete.”