A public meeting is being planned for Monday in Woodridge to discuss the future of Provincial Road 210.

Spokesperson Bill Stowe says PR 210 from Woodridge to Highway 12 is in "absolutely horrendous" condition. Majority of this road is gravel and Stowe says the 12-kilometre stretch should only take about eight minutes to drive, but these days can take up to 20 minutes.

"With two or three days of rain, the mud, the standing water, the potholes, the washboard becomes horrendous on that road," says Stowe. 

He notes the added time needed to drive down that road is unacceptable in emergencies. 

"Whether it be police, fire department, paramedic, so on, simply unacceptable," he says. 

During periods of dry weather, Stowe says the dusty conditions and flying rocks are hazardous to any motorist driving that stretch. 

According to Stowe, the less-than-desirable road conditions can sometimes last nine months of the year. He notes the conditions get really bad during the spring breakup and can become impassable during rain events throughout the year. Stowe says often the only relief comes in winter once the road is snow packed. 

"The only time where we don't have that standing water is probably January," he suggests.

Because this is a provincial road, Stowe says it does not fall within the jurisdiction of the Rural Municipality of Piney. He notes any of their lobbying efforts would be done with the province. 

Stowe says PR 210 is what connects a lot of communities, such as La Broquerie, Marchand, Woodridge, Sandilands, and St. Labre. He notes when that roadway is out of commission, it prevents residents from interacting.

"So that's huge," he says. 

Stowe says a public meeting is being held on Monday, May 6th at 7 pm at the Woodridge Community Club. He notes the purpose is to gauge interest from the community in whether they should lobby the province to upgrade the road. 

He notes it is his understanding that approximately 30 years ago, significant work was completed on that road but there has been nothing done since. He notes three decades ago, crews dug out the swamp, put in fill, and prepared the road for paving. For that reason, he says a complete rebuild now is not necessary. 

Stowe says residents have been waiting for the province to fix the problem, though it seems the time has now come to apply some pressure. He notes Monday's meeting will allow people to share their opinions. Stowe says this will allow organizers to determine whether it is worth addressing with the province. 

Should they decide to move forward, Stowe says they will need volunteers to help with their lobbying efforts, which could potentially include circulating petitions and requesting letters of endorsement from local businesses. 

Stowe says his group has yet to reach out to the province on this matter, noting they first need to make sure the community is on the same page. 

"Because there's strength in numbers and if we have the numbers then I think the province would be more likely to listen to us," he says. "But first we need to get this meeting under our belts and then get a committee in place that can help make decisions and help forward this."

Stowe says anyone unable to attend Monday's meeting is encouraged to email letters of support or comments to friendsofhwy210@gmail.com