DCN Director of Operations answers road responsibility questions
Josh Fox, Director of Operations for the District of Carleton North, was invited to attend the March 24 council meeting to address questions he had received regarding the responsibilities for municipal and provincial roads in the district.
Fox offered a Q&A session, reading questions from residents and answering those from councillors.
Q: Please explain what roads the municipality owns and maintains versus provincial roads?
JF: If it is a local, named road within the boundaries of the former municipalities, such as Station Road (in Centreville, NB), all responsibilities are with the District of Carleton North.
When a provincial highway runs through a former municipality, the district has maintenance responsibilities only for the section within that former municipality’s boundaries.
Currently, 36 kilometres of provincial highway are within the former municipalities of Bath, Centreville, and Florenceville-Bristol. For those sections, the municipalities and the province have varying agreements depending on the season and maintenance requests.
Roads and highways outside of the former municipality boundaries fall under the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure’s responsibilities.
Q: Route 105, which goes through Florenceville-Bristol and Bath, is provincially owned, but what are the municipalities’ obligations?
JF: Responsibilities can vary depending on the municipality and season. For example, for the portion of Route 105 that passes within the boundaries of Florenceville-Bristol, the District of Carleton North has both summer and winter maintenance responsibilities. However, within the boundaries of Bath, the District of Carleton North only has summer maintenance responsibilities. Examples of summer maintenance items include culverts, hot patching, and resurfacing; winter maintenance includes cold patching and plowing.
Q: Councillor Ryan Dickinson asked whether the District is considering modifying the contracts so that it has the same responsibilities across all municipalities.
JF: The agreements, as they are, are working. There is nothing going on that is an immediate concern.
(Fox also noted that the District currently lacks the necessary equipment to handle additional maintenance.)
Q: How does a resident report a pothole or issue on the roads?
JF: For non-urgent issues on municipal roads, such as a small pothole, during office hours, residents should call the town office at 506-392-6763. For emergencies or calls outside office hours, contact information for Public Works and the Director of Operations is available on the District of Carleton North website. Additionally, residents may submit through the “Report A Concern” contact form on the District of Carleton North website.
For issues concerning provincial roads, residents should contact the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure at 1-833-384-4111 or email: transportnb@gnb.ca directly.
Q: What are the ways available to repair potholes during each season?
JF: During the winter months, particularly from December until mid-May, the only option is cold patch, as the hot mix plants are closed. Cold patch is a pre-mixed material that can be stored and applied at low temperatures without heat. A cold patch is not a permanent repair; it is a temporary solution when a hot patch is not available.
(Fox advised that how long the cold patch lasts depends on factors including the conditions under which it is applied, freeze-thaw cycles, and traffic load. “When we do our cold patching, we try to do it when the conditions make it more likely that the patches will last for the longest amount of time.” He noted that applying cold patch is a “balance between workability and longevity.”)
Q: Are there any roads that are scheduled to have work this summer?
JF: There are no major provincial projects planned for the 2026-2027 fiscal year, outside of chip sealing Route 560 from the Centreville village limits to the White Road. Routine maintenance and patching will be done as normal. The Department of Transportation and Infrastructure capital plan can be viewed online at any time by visiting: https://www.gnb.ca/en/campaign/road-ahead.html
Likewise, the District of Carleton North does not have any projects planned for municipal roads this year, outside of regular hot patching and maintenance.
(Responding to an inquiry about the Juniper Road, Fox advised that repairs for the Juniper Road have been approved for the 2027-2028 fiscal year. Fox stressed that they lobbied hard for 2026 but were unsuccessful in moving up the timeline.)
