The country roads that take you home may soon be a lot less dusty.
Council is set to vote on awarding a contract to Den-Mar Brines Ltd. to provide dust suppression across Chatham-Kent’s entire gravel road network, at a cost of approximately $1.44 million.
The program will cover roughly 1,616 kilometres of roadway, where a liquid mixture of calcium, magnesium and sodium chlorides will be applied to reduce dust.
Dust suppression became a key issue during 2026 budget deliberations. In November 2025, councillors voted 10–7 to restore full-service levels after previously scaling back the program in 2024.
Reinstating the service contributed to a 0.67 per cent increase in municipal taxes.
If the contract is approved, municipal staff would also be authorized to extend the agreement with Den-Mar Brines Ltd. for up to two additional one-year terms in 2027 and 2028, based on contractor performance and without requiring further council approval.
