A $2.4 million contract has been signed to seal roads across Warrnambool City and the Corangamite Shire.
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A cost-saving deal struck between Warrnambool and Corangamite councils will see the works done under the one contract for 2020-2021.
Horsham-based contractor Inroads has been awarded the sum to seal 81 kilometres of road across the two municipalities in the next 12 months.
It marks a $226,000 saving for Corangamite Shire Council, who pledged to use the leftover funds to maintain more roads.
Corangamite deputy mayor Ruth Gstrein said it will cover nearly nine per cent of the local road network.
"I agree that the money we have saved on this should go to road maintenance to prop up the commitment we make to Roads to Recovery," she said.
"The funds come from the federal government which we are grateful to receive.
"We're now in the fifth year with the city of Warrnambool and shows a way forward for shared services with neighboring municipalities, it's a good way to have efficiency delivering services."
Based on the tender price from Inroads, the cost to complete the Corangamite Shire component of the 2020-2021 sealing contract is $1.8 million.
The cost for the Warrnambool City Council component of the works is within its budget.
The sealing prices have decreased 13 per cent compared with the year before, lining up with the 10 per cent decrease in the price of bitumen per tonne in the last 12 months due to the drop in oil prices, said mayor Neil Trotter.
"It's interesting that when we see a drop in oil prices we see a drop in the price of bitumen, this means we can care for more roads which is not a bad by-product."
Corangamite Shire councillors also awarded a $307,390 contract to Colas Solutions to carry out the 2020-21 slurry sealing of council roads.
Bituminous slurry sealing, otherwise known as microsurfacing, is an alternative to sprayed sealing and thin layer asphalting.
It is a mixture of bitumen emulsion, aggregate and water spread over the road surface in thin 10 to 15mm layers without the need of heating or compaction.
The road can be opened to traffic later that day once the treatment has been given time to cure.
Council documents state slurry seal is a low-cost alternative to a thin asphalt layer.
"We want to make sure the quality of our roads will stand the test of time," Cr Jo Beard said.
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