BRACEBRIDGE, ON- Tar spilled on an area highway has potentially caused some damage to people who drove over it afterwards.
It happened last week on High Falls Road near Highway 11 all along Muskoka Road 4 into Windermere. A local Bracebridge councillor who also serves on the District Roads committee, Rick Maloney, was made aware of the incident and began investigating.
He confirmed to the MyMuskokaNow.com newsroom that work involving tar was being done on a road in Windermere, but the tar hauling vehicle provided by Fowler was leaking material.
“One would say it helped the roadway in certain respects, but (the tar) was not intended for those roadways and therefore those people that drove through that shortly thereafter would have likely had some of that spray come up onto that vehicle.”
Bailey Ryan drove on the tar after the spill, noting on a local Facebook page, “This is my daily route. Not only ruining paint, but when it was pouring rain it felt very slick the whole way.”
MyMuskokaNow.com reached out to Fowler Highway Maintenance for comment on what happened and has not heard back. Maloney confirmed the District has been in contact with the company about the incident.
“Once the District was aware of it they contacted the contractor and made them aware and found out from them what the issue was,” confirmed Maloney.
Maloney said the District became aware of it this past Friday afternoon.
“The material on the road is an asphalt emulsion,” read Maloney from a report by a District roads manager. “Fowler was using these roads as their haul route with live-bottom trucks. This resulted in the emulsion leaking out of the back.”
Maloney said it is not unlike material used to seal high-float roads, which are made from layers of aggregate and tar to produce a smooth road surface. The difference is the material people drove through was still viscous and potentially damaged paint jobs on vehicles.
“This probably explains all the black streaks on my car which is white,” wrote resident Ron Stunell. “Someone better hope it comes off or I’ll be looking for a new paint job.”
A quick scan of online solutions for tar removal point to a clean rag and using WD-40, which is good for small amounts, but could be a problem for larger cleanups.
Maloney said there is not much that can be done in terms of cleaning up the spill but people should reach out to the District if they believe their vehicle as paint damage as a result of the tar.