Height of Masham sidewalks may require ‘corrections’
If you thought the sidewalks might be a little higher than normal the last time you drove down Route Principale Est in Masham, you aren’t imagining things, as the small planks of wood serving as makeshift ramps between the asphalt and sidewalk were most likely your first clue.
According to La Pêche Mayor Guillaume Lamoureux, the discrepancy is due to errors made during construction because of “poor calibration of the provincial geodetic point.” Geodetic points are reference points used by surveyors to plan out work.
While the discrepancy may seem excessive now, it is also partially due to the fact that only the first, base layer of asphalt has been applied, and still needs a six centimetre “running layer” of asphalt on top.
“There may remain two or three small sections of sidewalk where corrections are needed because the discrepancy will remain above standard,” Lamoureux explained, pointing to some makeshift ramps that required three planks to connect the asphalt to the sidewalk rather than two. “The MTQ is in charge of the asphalt; our general contractor Infratek is in charge of the sidewalks.”
Lamoureux said that the municipality had been informed by the MTQ that, once the base layer had been completed over the entire construction zone – starting after the roundabout in Wakefield and continuing all the way to Masham – a top layer will be placed all at once.
Lamoureux added that the MTQ plans to have their work done by mid-October and that corrections to the sidewalk would begin immediately afterward, taking around 10-15 days.
The correction work done by the municipality’s contractor will not cost any additional payments, as it is included in the costing of the original work, according to Lamoureux.
