It will take about $44 million over the next 10 years — or $4.4 million annually — to bring Ramara Township’s roads up to speed.
That’s the conclusion reached by experts from Tatham Engineering, after investigating about 350 kilometres of roads in the township east of Orillia.
Recommendations include creating turnarounds at dead-end roads to improve traffic navigation. Of the 158 dead-end roads in the township, 21 have formal turnarounds and 133 have informal or undersized turning areas or no such facilities, states the report.
The report also noted 12 roads where there is flooding, “overtopping”, erosion or prolonged surface saturation.
Suggestions were made based on traffic surveys conducted in 2025 and anticipated growth. Road standard guidelines are set by the Ministry of Transportation.
Most of Ramara roads are classified as rural as opposed to urban, and local as opposed to arterial roads.
“So there’s sparse development, it’s open roadside ditches, whereas on the urban perspective you have for the subdivision, you’ve got urban gutter, you’ve got storm sewers, and so that plays into what the standards are and what the level of care should be,” said Michael Cullip, of Tatham Engineering, during a recent presentation to council.
Understanding that funds are limited, his key recommendations include focusing on roads with higher traffic volumes, maintaining good roads to extend their life, and considering cost-effective strategies like single asphalt lifts and reinstating gravel roads.
“Historically, it’s been kind of the worst first, right…. But over the years, that’s changed. The paradigm has shifted to spending more money on maintaining those roads that are in fair and good condition to extend the overall life cycle,” explained Cullip.
This work includes preventative measures such as sealing cracks.
Ramara Mayor Basil Clarke agreed with this strategy, noting it minimizes long-term damage and costs.
The greatest improvement cost is to pulverize and resurface roads.
Suggested strategies to mitigate expenses include either or a combination of the following:
- Consider existing road widths as opposed to widening to meet standards;
- Consider one lift of asphalt rather than two;
- Consider the minimum standard road surface type versus maintaining the existing surface
Some rural roads are not to standard width, but they are not causing any issues either, so are not highly prioritized, noted Cullip.
Coun. Sherri Bell asked how common it is to revert paved roads back to gravel.
Cullip referenced some northern rural municipalities considering the strategy, but suggested public sentiment may differ.
There’s an argument for both paving and reverting to gravel, he said.
Coun. Dana Tuju asked about the feasibility of including a speed mitigation plan added to the surfacing project for Creighton Street. Laura Pye, the township’s general manager of development and infrastructure, explained that if council were to direct that, a larger budget would be required.
Coun. Joe Gough asked if anything could be done to prevent next year’s spring-time flooding impacts on residents. Pye could not confirm anything for 2026. However, she said that she and Fire Chief Tony Stong have discussed the risks and if emergency vehicles could not navigate the area, the priority would change.
Township roads do not include unassumed roads, those privately owned or of First Nation ownership, county roads, provincial roads, or the boundary roads that have shared responsibilities.
At the committee of the whole meeting, council recommended approving the 2026 road work program and accepting the report from Tatham Engineering as a guiding document for planning and prioritizing projects. Council will consider it at the May 11 meeting for ratification.
By Danielle Pitman, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Original Published on May 08, 2026 at 13:24
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