Owen Sound, Ontario, is kicking off its 2026 road resurfacing program today, June 5, after a scheduling delay pushed the work back from the originally planned May 11 start. The City of Owen Sound says the revised plan now covers 16 roadway segments, with a few new streets added and one dropped from the earlier list.
The work includes milling off old pavement, laying down fresh hot mix asphalt, fixing up drainage, and painting new lines. Crews will also make adjustments to underground infrastructure where needed. Residents on affected streets are asked to keep cars off the road during construction and expect some temporary traffic disruptions.
The City uses a tool called the Pavement Condition Index to pick which roads get attention each year. It looks at the type and severity of cracks and wear, along with the road’s age. The program is part of maintaining over 280 lane kilometres of roads and about 100 kilometres of sidewalks across Owen Sound.
Three streets were added to the resurfacing list this year: 17th Street East, 11th Avenue East, and 12th Street East. Seventh Avenue West was taken off. The full lineup of 16 segments includes 4th Street East, 28th Avenue East, 7th Avenue East, 6th Avenue East, 7th Street East, 8th Street A East, 15th Street A East, 14th Street East, two sections of 5th Avenue East, two of 11th Street East, plus 13th Avenue East, 17th Street East, 11th Avenue East, and 12th Street East.
This year’s push comes as the City faces a tight future for road repairs. Owen Sound council decided on May 25 to put $575,500 from the 2027 federal gas tax allocation toward fixing up the 16th Street East pedestrian tunnel instead. The $2.45-million tunnel contract went to E.C. King Contracting, a division of Miller Paving Limited, with approximately $1.16 million from a provincial Connecting Link grant and the remaining $1.3 million coming from city sources including gas tax revenues, reserves, and tax-supported capital. City staff warned that move will wipe out most of the 2027 resurfacing program, since the gas tax money usually provides about $700,000 a year for that work.
Anyone with questions can contact Engineering Technologist Manan Monga at 519-376-4440 ext. 3408 or [email protected]. For more details on the project, check the City of Owen Sound website.
