Pavement-Scanning Vehicle Will Be Seen In Courtenay

The City of Courtenay is calling it a Ghostbusters-like van loaded with strange-looking boxes, lights, and antennas.

You might be seeing it driving through Courtenay over the coming weeks - it’s not searching for ghosts - it’s hunting down rough pavement with an arsenal of high-tech laser scanners.

The City says the cutting-edge technology is helping it plan and prioritize repairs across the entire road network.

The van will be driving all roads maintained by the City, using multiple scanners mounted on various parts of the vehicle to collect pavement condition data, including surface irregularities, cracking, and pavement rutting.

The vehicle will be travelling approximately 10 kilometres per hour below the speed limit while collecting road condition data, and will have flashing lights while the vehicle is working.

The work is scheduled to be completed by mid-September.

This is the third time the technology has been used in Courtenay, with previous road scans completed in 2014 and 2018.

Past and current survey data will be used to prioritize road repairs, identify areas with accelerated deterioration, and help guide renewal projects over the next several years.

The project is part of the City’s asset management and transportation program, helping extend the lifespan of Courtenay’s infrastructure and lowering long-term costs.

The City's Rod Armstrong said the City has already experienced the benefits of this detailed data. He says the scans done in previous years have been useful in planning road maintenance, setting budgets, and applying for grants, adding it’s also much more efficient than manual inspections or drilling for pavement samples.

Armstrong says the ultimate goal is performing necessary road repairs before they become critical.

The city also relies on ongoing inspections and reports from the public. If you spot potholes needing repair on Courtenay roads, you can email publicworks@courtenay.ca.