With the Public Works crew stretched thin, Oxford outsources pothole repair.
It’s an issue that comes up every day, in every town across the country: potholes. Oxford has (more than?) its fair share, as the town balances a need to gather reserve funds for massive infrastructure projects with public complaints about deteriorating streets.
Potholes and damage to the asphalt usually arises from the need to repair the underground water or sewer infrastructure, something the Public Works crew was doing Thursday morning on Rideau Street:
At a Special Council Meeting held after Wednesday evening’s Committee-of-the-Whole, Oxford councillors accepted a tendered bid (of three bids received) from M&H Management of Indian Mountain, NB, to supply “cold patch” ($57/bag supply & install, or $35/bag install only) through the end of April. Councillor Brenton Colborne clarified Councillor Paul Jone’s motion regarding the cost, with the town able to purchase the patching material at $19/bag, M&H will handle the repair only, since their supply price is higher.
CAO Linda Cloney says the town has heard the rising public concern, which led to the decision to tender out the job with the public works crew currently down three members (two medical leave and one vacancy). The new Public Works Supervisor, Larry Reicker, was hired in January.
While the state of the streets is poor, the Town had hoped to squeak through until funding was secured to fix the entire stretch in one go. The Town has been working to sock away reserve funds since the completion of the Foundry Street water line & paving project, completed in 2024 at a cost of around $2-million. The clock is always ticking on infrastructure, with the municipality needing to put away about half of the projected cost in order to qualify for matching funds from other levels of government.
The much-anticipated water main, sewer, storm drain and paving project should get underway this Fall, if all the funding “ducks” line up. At a presentation to council by Manager of Finance, Ruthann Brookins on December 17, 2025, two options were presented for the project, expected to cost about $4.5-million. The slightly more expensive choice, interestingly, should end up costing the town less money since it would be eligible for additional government support under various programmes such as climate resilience and active transportation funding. The latter option would significantly transform Main Street, narrowing vehicle lanes by nearly half the current width and incorporating cobblestone parking areas with increased drainage capacity, among other landscaping features. For those who are nostalgic for when Oxford was known for its tree-lined streets, this may bring back some of that character.
A final decision on which of the options will be chosen should be known by the release of the Spring budget, as tenders will need to be issued as soon as possible.
The state of the town’s overall infrastructure is, to put it bluntly, deeply concerning. Brookins’ presentation included an “asset map” showing which parts of the community’s water / sewer / pavement is likely to experience failure over the next five years. The lines in red indicate a system “very likely to fail” in that time:
As good as it will be to see Main Street’s surface and underground infrastructure replaced, there remains a wide network pipes and pavement that will need to be addressed in the coming years.
Wednesday’s Special Council Meeting concluded with Council directing staff to move forward with a public sale of equipment and material currently stored at the Public Works shed at the end of Meadow Lane. Eleven items are listed, including a Kubota tractor. The list should appear shortly on the town’s website, as well as the process for bidding on the material.
Very informative article! Too bad more of the “critics” didn’t take time to read it. Perhaps then they would have a better understand of what is involved.