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IQALUIT - No more asphalt will be laid this year in Iqaluit.

In July, the Government of Nunavut announced $12 million in funding to pave capital city streets but since the announcement came fairly late in the construction season, Michele Bertol, senior director of planning and lands, said the city did not get as much paving done as it would have liked.

The muck stops here. Some Tundra Valley residents will have to wait until next summer for asphalt, as street paving in Iqaluit is done for the year. Public works laid strips down the Road to Nowhere, Lake Subdivision, Tundra Ridge and half of Tundra Valley this summer. - Herb Mathisen/NNSL photo

"The announcement was made in July so by the time we could secure a contract and get the contractor to ship all their equipment and tar and so on, we were already pretty late in the season," said Bertol.

This summer the city was able to pave all of the Road to Nowhere, the Lake Subdivision and Tundra Ridge. Half of Tundra Valley also received paving.

The rest of the roads slated for paving will be completed next year.

Bertol said these areas were paved first because they required less time and effort.

Newer roads were easier to pave, said Bertol, which explained why newer developments now have smoother streets and older areas are still bumpy.

"We started with the roads that required the least amount of work, so these were the newest roads," she said. "They were less than 10 years old and they were in very good shape."

Bertol said these areas required no major drainage, and all they needed was a re-grading in order to add the layer of asphalt to the roads.

Next year, crews will be busy finishing up Tundra Valley and paving Happy Valley, lower Iqaluit and the lower base. Bertol added there may be a few other sections around town that receive paving, but they would be limited to areas that already have utilities laid down.

"We have to avoid areas where the city plans, over time, to put water and sewage," she said.

She said a disparaging word has yet to be heard.

"I haven't heard complaints, for once," laughed Bertol.

Outside the post office on Wednesday, Iqalummiut seemed to back up Bertol's statement, and were happy to see the new paved roads.

"It's great," said Diane Hudon, adding the roads will help cyclists get around with ease over the summers. She said she hoped to see bike paths in the near future.

Ed Legge, owner of J & N Moving Services, said while the city is doing a great job with the new roads, it's the old ones that need touching up.

"I've had $10,000 put into the front ends of my trucks," he said, explaining the potholes on Federal Road and the ring road were wreaking havoc on his fleet of vehicles.

"The rest of it? They're doing a wonderful job," he said.