Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I have a return to Question O66-12(2) asked by Mr. Gargan on February 18, 1992 with respect to the use of common road salt, or sodium chloride, on the Fort Providence access road. The Member wished to know why the Department of Transportation would apply salt on the road on a relatively warm February day.
In 1987 and 1988 the Department of Transportation spent $1.5 million giving the Fort Providence access road a chip seal asphaltic surface. This road improvement has the advantage of giving a smooth, dust-free and safer driving surface. The ice blades which motor graders use to remove ice from gravel surface roads would destroy the chip seal surface. The only practical way to remove ice from an asphaltic surface is to apply road salt.
As the Member reported, Tuesday, February 4, 1992, was a mild day and rain was falling in the Fort Providence area. Although the rain was liquid at the time it fell, the rain water on the road was sure to freeze later in the day and evening when the temperature dropped. The department's road maintenance crew in Fort Providence took the appropriate action in applying salt to prevent the rain from freezing and making the road a dangerously slippery surface.
The Fort Providence maintenance crew did exactly as they are expected to do. The Department of Transportation does not wait for complaints from the public or for injury or fatality accidents before taking steps to keep the roads in a safe driving condition.
I wish to correct the Member's suggestion that the Department of Transportation spent $218,000 applying salt on the Fort Providence access road. That figure is the amount the department spent in 1990-91 on salt applications for the entire highway system. In the year 1990-91, the Department of Transportation spent $28,300 for labour, equipment and salt keeping the Fort Providence access road safe for the public's use.