'Dirt roads are probably smoother': Montague-area residents want road fixed

Some people who live in and around Montague, P.E.I., are asking the province to fix a crumbling rural road. 

The pavement on South Montague Road is cracked and there are large broken pieces of asphalt, loose gravel and deep potholes. 

"The last couple of years it's always been like this," said Gabriel Verleun, who lives in the area. He said the road is always in need of repair.    

Verleun said heavy farm equipment from the area helps pack the road down over the summer months, but the road always crumbles in the spring. 

"Every year it gets worse and worse," said Verleun.

'Turned into rubble'

Parts of the road have become so bad that drivers will often use the shoulder or the oncoming lane to avoid the bad section of pavement, he said.  

"You definitely don't want people driving on the shoulder of the road because that's more smooth than the road itself," said Cory Deagle, MLA for Montague-Kilmuir and part of the PC government. 

The road is one of the worst in the area, Deagle said.

"Dirt roads are probably smoother than what this road is right now, and it's pavement. It's turned into rubble here now," said Deagle.

Deagle said he has contacted Transportation Minister Steven Myers in hopes of getting the road repaired this summer.

"Hopefully before the weather turns cold this fall we can have something done here," said Deagle.  

Priority is main roads

P.E.I.'s Transportation Department considers the amount of traffic and the condition of roads when determining the order in which roads get fixed, a government spokesperson told CBC News via email. 

P.E.I.'s main highways are given priority, then the province will focus on secondary roads like South Montague Road, the email said.

The spokesperson said the province expects to fix the road in the coming weeks.

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