Pontiac Regional County Municipality (MRC Pontiac) has faced no shortage of environmental crises this year, from an ice storm knocking out power to thousands of homes, to spring flooding that threatened riverfront communities to the forest fires that blanketed the region in smoke these past few weeks.

MRC Pontiac Territory Director Jason Durand stopped by CHIP 101.9's studios this past week to discuss how these situations have had an impact on the maintenance of the roads in the non-organized territories (TNOs). While the territory management department has many roles, including environmental rules, zoning, and forestry management, the maintenance of roads in the TNOs is one of its more public-facing responsibilities. The department prioritizes the main roads into the forest for regular maintenance, but even that small section of the overall network totals 375 km.

This season got off to a difficult start with more downed trees than usual and heavy spring rain also brought plenty of washouts, which caused snowballing delays. Durand explained that the flooding in the spring also inhibited the work on chemin du Bois Franc (known as the Jim's Lake Road), since Mansfield shares responsibility for a section of the road and their workers were tied up getting their territory back in order. The recent forest fires blocked anyone from entering the forests for around a week, and Durand said that he worried the large fire near Lac Nilgaut might damage a key bridge in the region, though it appears that most of the infrastructure on the territory was unscathed.

Durand said that he was looking to put together a committee with elected officials and residents of the territory to better coordinate priorities for road maintenance in the TNOs.

The full interview with Durand is available below: