Heather Wright/The Independent

It will likely be next year before a crumbling patch of Petrolia Line in Brooke-Alvinston is fixed properly.

Petrolia Line from Nauvoo to Sexton Road is part of the municipality’s road network. In the past few years, it has deteriorated with town staff constantly patching holes.

Last month, Councillor Craig Sanders asked staff to get some prices for repairs this year saying “if we don’t save those spots, someone’s going to get hurt.”

April 8, Public Workers Manager Jamie Butler told council the pothole filled places between Nauvoo and Sexton Road need more than just a quick fix.

“This winter was really hard on the roads…there was a lot of damage,” he said. “I’ve talked to an engineer and the size of the work, it’s not just a little patch we can do. This is a full reconstruction through the hill there.”

Butler proposed getting an engineer to give a detailed look at the road. That will cost about $22,000 to figure out what it will cost to fix the road.

Mayor David Ferguson says there is not money in the 2026 budget to reconstruct the road so “the smart move is to get this done,” he said of the engineering study. “So then by fall, we know what’s going to go on, what it is going to cost us, and then go into next year’s budget.

Ferguson says the downside is the repairs won’t happen until next year.

Not everyone was happy with the idea.

Councillor Frank Nemcek said instead of paying “mega dollars” for a repair, the municipality should simply remove the tar and chip road and make it gravel.

That was a move Councillor Craig Sanders opposed. “It costs money to do that and then it costs to maintain it constantly,” he said.

Ferguson agreed.

“Number one, I don’t want to see any more road to the back to gravel. We took one back. I don’t want to see any more go back. We have to have costs in front of us before we figure out what to do.”

Council agreed to move ahead with the engineering study. Butler says some of the smaller holes may be patched in the meantime by public works employees.