The RM of Portage la Prairie's looked after an important item now that spring's here.

They've awarded a gravel hauling contract to Meseyton Construction. Reeve Kam Blight says it's something that happens annually.

"We bring on a few extra trucks to assist our trucks in gravelling our roads. We have a lot of gravel this year that we're wanting to get laid down onto our roads, and try to improve them as much as possible. A lot of times you only have a short window of opportunity to get it all on. So we're going to be using two of their trucks, starting shortly."

Blight outlines how the contract works.

"It's on an hourly rate, and it's $105.00 per hour, so we're hiring two trucks for a minimum of 30 working days. The opportunity's there for an extension on top of that. It's a no-brainer for us to go ahead and to use local individuals like that to help us with putting down gravel."