Kneehill County council members awarded the tender to crush gravel from the new Torrington gravel pit to Lone Pine Crushing Ltd during the Tuesday, April 26 regular council meeting.
During budget deliberations in February 2021, council approved $700,000 towards gravel crushing at the new site and estimated approximately 150,000 tonnes of gravel; however, the winning tender bid came nearly $2 per tonne less than the average bid, meaning the county will be able to crush approximately 230,000 tonnes of gravel without increasing the budget.
“We’d like to stick with the budget of $700,000 each year as prices fluctuate,” stated Director of Transportation Brad Buchert during the meeting.
The tender opened on Tuesday, March 30 and the county received a total of 11 bids, with an average bid of $4.11 per tonne; Buchert noted, even at the average bid amount, the county would have been able to stockpile approximately 20,000 tonnes more than originally estimated under the budgeted $700,000.
A video was also presented to council, providing an aerial view of the ongoing excavation work at the Torrington gravel pit. According to Mr. Buchert, approximately 20,000 tonnes of gravel has already been crushed.
Buchert estimates “about 13 years of road crush” gravel will be excavated based on the county’s current usage. He added the county will also be able to eliminate the expense of purchasing sand for road use, and can also use sand from the pit to maintain dirt trails and “get extra life” from these.
