Ontario’s provincial government plans to give municipalities more data and tools to optimize load limits during spring thaws.
The Ontario Ministry of Transportation is partnering with the Ontario Good Roads Association to create frost depth prediction models that can better time spring thaw periods and even identify opportunities to limit the reduced load periods.
Local governments have the power to reduce axle weight limits during the seasonal changes to limit road damage.
The commitment comes amid the Less Red Tape, Stronger Ontario Act, which promises to strengthen supply chains and make it easier to interact with government services. It includes 28 initiatives overall.
Other transportation-related initiatives include changes to the province’s highway corridor management system to provide an online portal for approvals and permits. These include things like entrances to commercial properties.
“Our government is focused on making Ontario better for people and businesses by removing unnecessary, redundant, and outdated regulations that hold us back,” Minister of Red Tape Reduction Parm Gill said in a related press release. “With this fall’s Red Tape Reduction Package, we are taking actions to enable people to thrive and businesses to prosper.”
