Essex County Council is going outside its tendering process to fast tracking road repairs after sections of County Road 22 and County Road 11 heaved due to extreme heat earlier this month.
County CAO Rob Maisonville was given delegation of authority when the COVID-19 pandemic began and he's using that power to shorten the tendering process from months to just 30 days.
"Although this isn't an emergency related to COVID-19 or flooding it's still an emergency with regards to our road structure that needs to be addressed," he says. "A full report will be coming to council with the results of the tenders and a bit of background why we're experiencing these stresses."
Maisonville says there simply aren't enough meetings due to the time of year and the pandemic.
"It wouldn't be our normal process, but given the timing and the number of meetings that we meet in the summer, we're looking to get this tender out this week with a quick turnaround in regards to addressing the risk especially before school buses come on the road in the fall," he says.
Essex Mayor Larry Snively was one of several council members to express support with the move.
"This is something we have move very, very quickly on before someone gets hurt, that's my view anyways," added Snively.
The next meeting of Essex County Council is on Aug. 15.