Roads & Sidewalks

Road maintenance, winter operations, construction projects and entranceways.

Construction Projects

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Entranceways

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Winter Maintenance

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The Town maintains approximately 848 lane kilometres of roadways within its boundaries; about 430 lane km of the roads have a hard surface such as asphalt or surface treatment/tar and chip, and there are approximately 748 lane km maintained in the winter.

Within the Town’s boundaries there are also roadways maintained by other levels of government. Bruce County Highways maintain Bruce Road 8, Bruce Road 9, Bruce Road 10, Bruce Road 13, Bruce Road 14, Bruce Road 26, Bryant Street, Huron Road, Daddy Weir Road, and a section of Howdenvale Road. For more information on these roadways, visit Bruce County Transportation and Environmental Services. The Ministry of Transportation (MTO) is responsible for the maintenance of provincial Highway 6 and Highway 21. For more information on these roadways, visit Ministry of Transportation (MTO).

The Town has approximately 418 lane kilometers of gravel roads that it maintains. It generally takes the Town seven (7) business days to grade all of the gravel roads, if weather conditions allow. The Town regularly monitors the condition of its roads, and will dispatch road maintenance crews if required and weather permitting.

The Town of South Bruce Peninsula has many “tar and chip” roads, which are roads with a layer of surface treatment. The Town utilizes “tar and chip” paving on many of its roads. Also known as “chip seal” or “single or double surface treatment”, tar and chip paving is used on rural roads with low to medium volumes of traffic as a more cost effective and durable alternative to asphalt paving. Please see the Fact Sheet on Tar and Chip / Surface Treatment for more information.

Effective Tuesday, March 3, 2026, all weight restrictions/load postings of 5 tonnes per axle will be in effect until further notice.

In order to reduce damage to the Town’s roadways during spring thaw conditions, the Town implements vehicle weight limits and roads are posted for “half loads” only. Roads are most vulnerable to heavy vehicle damage in the early spring when frost is leaving the ground. Load restrictions help to minimize the damage.

The Town asks road users to observe and obey the half-load signs when posted. Town staff monitor each road during spring thaw conditions and remove the half load restrictions as soon as the road is stable and can accommodate the additional weight.

Please see the 2019 Spring Roads Conditions Notice regarding maintenance of gravel roads during the spring thaw.

Certain bridges within the Town have weight restrictions. By-Law 13-2023 lists these bridges and their weight limits.

Bridge Posting Notice: Jewel Bridge is posted for a reduced load limit of 5 tonnes – No Trucks.

Unless otherwise posted, the speed limit for municipal roads is 80 km/h. The Town’s Speed Limit By-Law lists the reduced speed limits on those roads. The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) are responsible to enforce speed limits and other rules on municipal roads. You can contact the OPP to report dangerous or careless driving.

The Town has a Neighbourhood Traffic Calming policy that provides a tool for evaluating speeding and/or traffic volume issues brought forth by residents. If you would like to submit a request for an evaluation, you can follow the procedure within the policy.

The Neighbourhood Traffic Calming Policy will require the submission of a written request by a proponent or group of representatives of a neighbourhood or road. The proponent shall include in the request the location, description of the concern and the suggested/requested solutions. Staff will investigate the concerns and undertake traffic monitoring as resources and schedule permit. Assessment of the extent and nature of any concerns will be based on traffic engineering best practices. Upon review of the results of the traffic monitoring, Staff will determine if a traffic concern exists or not, and convey a summary of the findings to the applicant. Depending on the findings, a solution may be brought forth to Council, the Town may reach out to other residents in the area for their feedback, or additional research may be conducted.

The Town has a responsibility to maintain its publicly travelled roadways and roadside allowances in a safe condition and to ensure that private laneways and roadway intersections are adequately cleared of obstructions. The roadside brushing activities that the Town conducts are necessary for the safety of road users. It also reduces maintenance costs and adequately maintains the Town’s roadside ditches. Continuous shade causes soft shoulders and deteriorating roads, which can lead to dangerous driving conditions. Removing brush along roadsides improves sight lines for drivers, restores proper drainage in ditches, and increases snow storage areas.

Roadside brushing provides improved:

  • Sight Lines
  • Overhead Clearances for Larger Vehicles
  • Roadside Clearances for Road Maintenance Equipment
  • Drainage in roadside ditches
  • Snow Storage Areas
  • Winter Driving Surfaces

The intent of the Town’s annual brushing program is to clear cut the Town road allowances of all brush, shrubs, small trees, large trees and overhanging tree canopy that address any or all of the above noted improvements.

As part of the Consolidated Linear Infrastructure Environmental Compliance Approval (CLI-ECA), the Town is required to create and carry out a Stormwater Management Program. This program helps ensure the stormwater system is working properly and meeting environmental standards.

Each year, the Town also prepares a report that outlines the condition of the system, maintenance work completed, any risks that have been identified, and the steps taken to address those issues.

Reporting requirements will continue to grow as more plans and information are developed over time. It’s important to note that the CLI-ECA currently applies only to piped stormwater systems and does not include open-ended culverts typically found in rural areas.

2025 Stormwater Management System Annual Performance Report