Canada`s middle-aged road system needs more investment

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Canada’s middle-aged road system needs more investment

By John Clinkard, Consulting Economist, CanaData

Although Toronto drivers may not believe it, the average age of Canada’s network of roads and highways has actually declined by 12% over the past six years. This observation is based on a recently published Statistics Canada report titled Age of Public Infrastructure: A Provincial Perspective.

Roads and highways account for the majority (59%) of Canada’s public infrastructure, followed by sewer systems (both sanitary and storm trunk and collector lines), water-supply systems (filtration plants, pumping stations and water distribution systems), sewage-treatment facilities and bridges and overpasses.

According to the Statistics Canada study, increased spending on roads and highways in the province of Québec accounted for almost half the decline in the average age of the country’s road and highway network. Over the past six years, the age of roads and highways in Québec have fallen by 15.6%, from 18 years to 15 years. However, given that the useful life of roads and highways is 28.2 years, the average age of Québec’s road system is still beyond its middle age.

Across the country, the province with the oldest road and highway system is Manitoba. In that province, roads have an average age of 17.1 years, equivalent to 61% of their useful life. Other provinces with quite “mature” road and highway systems include Saskatchewan (16.7 years or 59% of useful life), Newfoundland and Labrador (16.4 years or 58% of life), Nova Scotia (16.3 years or 58% of life) and British Columbia (15.8 years or 56% of life.)

At the other end of the age spectrum are Ontario and Prince Edward Island. These two provinces have the “youngest” highway systems with an average age of 13.9 years, a number equivalent to 49% of their useful lives.

It is clear that unless Canada focuses more resources on rejuvenating our middle-aged road network, the neglect will exacerbate our already dismal pattern of weak productivity growth. Moreover, the need to upgrade our road and highway network is particularly acute, given rising traffic volumes caused by the increasing popularity of online purchases, “just-in-time” inventory strategies and long-distance transport.

John Clinkard has over 30 years experience as an Economist in international, national and regional research and analysis with leading financial institutions and media outlets in Canada.