The Ministry of Transportation can expect a letter from the Municipality of West Nipissing asking it to accelerate the time frame to rehabilitate Highway 539 from Field to Warren.
Council says pending approvals, the MTO plans to start the project next year and take several years to work on the 26 miles of roadway.
Council wants an assurance the work begins next year but that it can also be carried out over a faster period of time.
Councillor Roland Larabie told his colleagues it’s his understanding the work is being spread over several years because of money.
Larabie says the project is estimated to cost about $17-million.
Mayor Joanne Savage says the municipality has received numerous complaints about potholes along Highway 539 and that the temporary patch jobs don’t hold.
Larabie says the roadway has been taking a heavy pounding in recent years because of heavy truck hauling operations involved with mining and quarry-related work.
He says one of the things the MTO will have to do is get the frost heaves out of the ground.
As was explained to council, the MTO plans to tackle the areas that need the greatest work first before working on those sections that fall further down the priority list.
The project also includes Highway 539A which goes into River Valley.
Savage says depending on the kind of response council gets to its letter, it can always raise the issue this August when members of council and staff head to the annual Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference in Ottawa.