At its regular meeting on March 11, M.D. of Smoky River council was asked to make a decision on the option to replace a grader.
“Council has not chosen to replace a grader or chosen any option at this time as we are still reviewing our options,” says Reeve Paula Guindon.
“Our current equipment is aging and has reached a point where repairs are increasingly frequent and costly. We’re currently reviewing multiple replacement options.”
Guindon explains the M.D. currently has six internal graders and two spare graders.
“Reliable equipment is essential for meeting our service standards,” Guindon says.
“Road maintenance remains a priority for the M.D., and reviewing all options available is required to ensure we can deliver consistent, quality road services efficiently without costly interruptions,” she adds.
Each grader beat in the M.D. is a total of 296 km, with other municipalities seeing fewer kilometres per beat. Northern Sunrise County (NSC), the closest of neighbouring municipalities, is 200 km. M.D. of Smoky River operates its machines at $879 per kilometre, where NSC is $1,185 per kilometre and Big Lakes County is $1,267 per kilometre.
“The M.D. of Smoky River runs graders at a lower cost primarily by using larger grader beats, about 90 km longer than neighboring counties,” Guidon says.
“The trade-off is that these large beats make it harder to meet target service levels, especially during peak maintenance periods.”
Guindon adds the municipality will also try to contract out grading services during excessive snowfall, if required.
“There is a limited number of contractors with graders in the area, and many of them have prior commitments in the private sector, especially during extreme winters with repeated snow events,” Guindon says.
“This makes contractor availability unreliable when the M.D. needs immediate response. In addition, mobilizing contractors on short notice can be slower and more costly than using in-house resources. To address extreme conditions, the M.D. has hired local farmers with tractors, who are more readily available and can respond quickly when conditions are severe.”
If the M.D. chooses to rebuild the 2017 CAT 160M AWD using Finning In-Shop Rebuild, they will be looking at $358,177 if cores are salvageable. If they choose to do an internal M.D. rebuild their costs would be $331,177.
A brand-new grader with outright purchase would cost $652,000 per grader. Council could also choose to purchase through financing or buy multiple units at a discounted rate (two or more graders will provide a $50,000 discount per grader).
“The M.D. is a primarily agricultural municipality with a very dense road network, providing access to nearly every land parcel despite being geographically smaller than some neighboring municipalities,” Guindon notes.
“Under M.D. policy, dirt and field access roads are only serviced as time allows and after 250 mm (10 inches) of snow, so they are not maintained to the same standard as gravel roads. Some oil access roads are maintained by industry under road use agreements, while others fall under regular M.D. maintenance.”
Guindon explains council hopes to have a decision made for the 2026 grader replacement program at its next meeting in April. She adds council would like to send sincere appreciation to residents for their continued understanding during this challenging winter season.
“Operations faced significant challenges due to multiple weather events and equipment issues, which affected our response times,” she says.
“We remain committed to maintaining safe accessible roadways throughout our region. Community input has been valuable in identifying challenge areas that require additional attention.”
Guindon and council also commends the M.D. operators who demonstrated exceptional commitment this year, working tirelessly through unpredictable conditions.
“They were instrumental in maintaining essential services despite numerous challenges,” Guindon concludes. “We commend their dedication, and perseverance throughout this demanding winter season.”
Emily Plihal
Local Journalism
Initiative Reporter