Canadian roads and highways have reached half of their useful life: Stats Can

OTTAWA — The average age of the four main components of Canada’s public infrastructure has stabilized in recent years after 20 years of steady increases, thanks to higher investment.

A new Stats Canada study examines the aging, from 1963 to 2003, of the four main components of engineering infrastructure owned by governments: roads and highways, sewer systems, wastewater treatment facilities and bridges.

A Stat Can study shows highway and road
system is past half its useful life

The study found that in 2003, most of the components had passed the halfway mark of their so-called “service life” at all government levels. Bridges, the youngest infrastructure, had reached 49 percent of their useful life. Roads and highways had reached 59 percent, while sewer reached 52 percent. Wastewater treatment facilities, the oldest infrastructure, had 63 percent of their useful life behind them in 2003

The study supports the widely held view that Canada’s infrastructure has aged. However, the aging trend has stabilized in recent years. In 2003, average age actually diminished slightly, thanks to increased investment by the various levels of government, the report says.

The network has started getting “younger” as investment has risen. On the other hand, bridges have been aging almost without interruption since 1977.

Two out of three levels of government saw the age of their infrastructure, covered by this study, decline in 2003. Provincial and municipal infrastructure got younger, while the average age of federal infrastructure remained virtually unchanged.

Nevertheless, federal infrastructure was already older than provincial and municipal infrastructure, the report says.

The road network is by far the largest component examined in this study, accounting for two-thirds of the total value.

“The road network started getting younger in 1995, following a period of steady aging from 1974 to 1992,” states the report. “High levels of investment have rejuvenated the road network. However, they have not been enough to bring the age of roads and highways down to what it was in the early 1960s.”

The average age of roads and highways rose from 14.1 years in 1974 to 17.0 years in 1992 and then edged down to 16.6 years in 2003.

Because the average service life for roads and highways is 28 years, this means that by 2003, this network already had over 50 percent of its useful life behind it.

By 2003, federal and provincial bridges had passed past the halfway mark of their useful life; 57 percent in the case of federal bridges and 53 percent in the case of provincial. In contrast, municipal bridges were younger, and had only 41 percent of their useful lives behind them.