Almost half of asphalt, chipseal road projects not data-driven, report says

Almost half the asphalt and chipseal projects chosen for provincial road funding were not selected by a data-driven tool that is supposed to objectively measure which repairs should be prioritized, a new report says.

There was a “lack of documented rationale” for the decisions that “could result in work being performed that does not prioritize safety,” said the report by Auditor General Paul Martin.

Between April 2023 and December 2024, 27 per cent of asphalt and chipseal projects selected for funding were not identified by the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure's asset management system.

And 22 per cent were selected despite that asset management system recommending they be done at a later date.

"We reviewed 26 changes and found none had adequate documented rationale," the audit said.

It noted department staff “refine” the list of projects based in part on “local knowledge” and input from elected members of the legislature.

Martin said the findings did not cover the first capital budget introduced by the Holt Liberals in December 2024. 

The funding examined by Martin is separate from a smaller envelope of money that allows for MLA input and that came under scrutiny by Green MLA Megan Mitton last week.

Mitton obtained and released data suggesting that the money allocated for electoral ridings tended to increase or decrease depending on whether the ridings were represented by government or opposition MLAs.

Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Chuck Chiasson said last week he put an end to those fluctuations when he became minister last year, and the funding levels by riding are determined by how many kilometres of roads are in each riding.

Martin said his audit steered clear of that $7 million pocket of money and only focused on projects in the much larger capital budget, purportedly chosen based on a formula that measures the condition of the roads and ranks projects by need.

“If they are using this tool and it’s identifying the roads that need the repair, why are people overriding the decisions?” he said during a news conference.

He said he couldn’t speculate whether the input from MLAs skewed those decisions as well.

But he said his findings raised questions about the credibility of the asset management system.