Prohibition Creek
≈ CAD 3.81 M/kmCAD 25.5 M in funding for the 6.7 km first phase of a two-lane all-season road. Ratio of announced funding, not a final construction cost.
Official source ↗INFRASTRUCTURE · WATERSHEDS · ECONOMICS
The cost of a road starts with the ground.
Its true value is measured throughout its working life.
Why build this road? To transport what, how often, for how many years — and with what consequences?
Facts first · accessible sources
Ground conditions change the cost of a road.
Documented projects in northern settings illustrate how ground conditions, remoteness and construction requirements affect costs.
Far North gravel roads
≈ CAD 3 M/kmA historical estimate from 2017 cited in the 2022 report for all-season gravel roads in the Far North. This benchmark is not a current market average.
Read the study ↗Slave Geological Province
≈ CAD 2.66 M/kmApproximately CAD 1.1 B for a proposed 413 km corridor, giving an indicative ratio. This is a regional infrastructure concept, not a road constructed at that cost.
Academic analysis ↗Another benchmark: the Northern Policy Institute reports a 2019 quote of CAD 550,000 to 800,000/km for a timber-mat road in a northern setting. This technology differs from XtremeM; it is not an equivalent-scope technical price comparison. Read the study ↗
A completed road must also support efficient operations.
During the first seasons of use on a forest road, driving conditions can vary considerably with the soil, drainage and rainfall. Mud, rutting and surface deformation may require grading or additional materials while slowing vehicles down. This stabilization period therefore carries a real cost: additional maintenance, slower deliveries and occasional access disruptions. Comparing solutions means considering not only construction, but also road availability and operational efficiency from the moment the road enters service.
FHWA geotechnical guide ↗01 — A different perspective
A road is a production asset.
We do not choose machinery on purchase price alone. Why choose a road without considering truck productivity, reliability, maintenance and residual value?
Build
Clearing, excavation, foundations, aggregates, transport and drainage.
Operate
Fuel, haul cycles, truck wear, maintenance and interruptions.
Address the impacts
Hydrology, habitats, permits, restoration and climate risks.
What value do we place on what the construction price does not measure?
02 — Ground conditions matter
A kilometre is almost never uniform.
Bearing capacity, water, freeze-thaw cycles and transitions between soils determine the work required and the maintenance risks.
RockGood bearing capacity; excavation may be needed
SandOften favourable; erosion is possible
SiltSensitive to water and frost
ClayVariable settlement and bearing capacity
Mixed soilsLocalized weak points
PeatlandLow bearing capacity, water storage
SwampSensitive flows and habitats
PermafrostRisk of subsidence on thawing
Load distribution through the assembly is assessed against loads, ground support and traffic cycles.
03 — Water is part of the project
A road crosses a watershed. Water flows across the landscape.
Embankments can interrupt diffuse flows. Ditches can concentrate water towards a few culverts. Watershed management must consider the cumulative effect of roads, not just each culvert in isolation.
Designing access around water
Traditional road
Embankments, ditches and culverts shape road drainage. Their design must account for natural flows, expected flow rates and downstream effects.
Targeted modular intervention
XtremeM modules can be positioned on sensitive sections to limit earthworks and preserve diffuse flows where site conditions allow. Bearing capacity, crossings and drainage still require project-specific design.
The real issue is not to eliminate all hydraulic management: it is to design access that disrupts watershed functions as little as possible. Watercourse crossings and concentrated flows require specific design.
Depending on ground conditions and loads, a modular configuration may reduce excavation, imported aggregates and longitudinal drainage works. Site preparation and required structures must still be defined for each location; no quantified hydrological benefit or zero-impact outcome is assumed.
04 — The research
Road quality changes the economics of transport.
Fuel
Savings of up to 13% simulated in the independent study by Maior et al. (2025), for a mining-road case in Brazil.
Productivity
A gain of up to 17% simulated per truck in the same study, with cycles up to 15% shorter.
Climate and roads
Potential annual increase in road maintenance and repair costs in Canada by 2050, presented to the Senate in 2023.
Results from specific studies and projections, not measured XtremeM performance. They explain why operations and risks belong in the decision, without being automatically applied to the calculator.
05 — The essential questions
What does the quotation leave out?
A day of access?
What production cost follows an unexpected closure?
One haul cycle?
What are the minutes, fuel and wear avoided worth?
A functioning watershed?
What value do preserved hydrological functions have?
A month gained?
What is the benefit of earlier commissioning?
A smaller footprint?
Which studies and mitigation measures are needed? Faster permitting is not guaranteed.
A second use?
What will recovery and redeployment cost? What value remains in the modules?
06 — The right tool in the right place
The best road may be hybrid.
Stable ground: a traditional road may be optimal. Variable ground: XtremeM modules can target difficult sections. A hybrid configuration therefore combines a conventional road with modules in strategic locations; hydrological management is a complementary area for study.
We do not aim to replace every road. We aim to address the sections where conventional construction becomes costly or damaging.
07 — Exploratory calculator
Compare 15 years of service, not just day one.
An initial economic view of the same access road operated for 15 years, without redeployment, with removal and site restoration in year 15. If the road stays in service, adapt end-of-use costs and terminal values. Amounts are editable: these assumptions are neither quotations nor guaranteed performance.
Operations and end of use
Modular maintenance covers inspection, cleaning and keeping the access road in service. No periodic panel replacement is assumed. Downtime and transport savings start at zero because no operating scenario has been supplied.
Annual maintenance expenditure throughout the 15 years of service.
Annual allowance for two modules across (4.12 m), scaled proportionally. Inspection, cleaning and monitoring; add any replacements required by the scenario.
Annual amount for the whole project. Do not count the same losses again under transport savings.
Annual project amount to enter based on your operating scenario.
Annual amount supported by your scenario. Do not combine opportunity revenue and avoided hourly costs for the same hours.
Project amount at the end of year 15. Not automatically multiplied by kilometres.
Project amount at the end of year 15, separate from site restoration.
Site works after removal, without counting module removal twice. No zero-impact assumption is made.
Total terminal value deducted in year 15. Zero by default in this restoration scenario; adjust if the road stays in service or retains recoverable value.
10% by default, applied only to module purchase. Deducted once in year 15, with no guaranteed resale. Excludes transport, installation and restoration.
Brings constant-currency expenditure and final value to a common date. The 6% assumption is retained from the supplied scenario; 0% gives an undiscounted view.
Calculated quantity : 488 modules2 rows · Resulting modular width : 4.12 mModule purchase : CA$1,377,977
Scenario initial cost per kilometre — Traditional: CA$1,500,000 · XtremeM: CA$1,447,977. XtremeM includes purchase and the entered transport and preparation/installation allowances. Budget pullouts and additional works separately; this is not a delivered-and-installed quotation.
TraditionalCA$2,214,749
XtremeMCA$1,431,450
Savings with XtremeMCA$783,299
Nominal residual value at year 15 : CA$137,798 (10 %).
| Item | Traditional | XtremeM |
|---|---|---|
| Initial construction, purchase, transport and installation | CA$1,500,000 | CA$1,447,977 |
| Maintenance — present value | CA$631,296 | CA$24,281 |
| Downtime — present value | CA$0 | CA$0 |
| Transport savings — deduction | − CA$0 | − CA$0 |
| Site restoration — present value | CA$83,453 | CA$8,345 |
| Module removal — present value | CA$0 | CA$8,345 |
| Residual value — year-15 deduction | − CA$0 | − CA$57,498 |
| Compared economic cost | CA$2,214,749 | CA$1,431,450 |
Initial cost + discounted annual maintenance and downtime − discounted transport savings + discounted removal and site restoration − discounted residual value. Annual expenditure at year-end; end of use and residual value at year 15. Constant amounts, excluding taxes and financing costs.
Where the starting values come from
Indicative price: USD 1,995/module, taken from the launch offer and to be confirmed for the order. Usable dimensions: 4.11 × 2.06 m. Reference exchange rates dated 16 October 2026: USD 1 = CAD 1.4154; EUR 1 = CAD 1.5908. Other amounts are working assumptions, not regional averages.
The PDFs show a fixed scenario and its assumptions. Edit your scenario in the Web version.
08 — Independent references
Explore the sources
- Senate of Canada · testimony of 31 October 2023 ↗
Infrastructure adaptation, road maintenance and repairs.
- Maior et al. (2025) ↗
Rolling resistance, fuel and productivity: simulation results for a mining case.
- Meneses and Sepúlveda (2023) ↗
Simulation of mining-road deterioration.
- Mukherjee et al. (2024) ↗
Hydrological risks at culverts and crossings.
- Northern Policy Institute (2022) ↗
Innovative solutions for northern roads.
- FHWA · geotechnical guide ↗
Moisture, density and behaviour of compacted soils.
- Bank of Canada · daily exchange rates ↗
Source of the dated exchange-rate benchmarks used in the scenario.
External studies address their own projects and methods. They are not comparative tests of XtremeM.
From perspective to project
The ground provides the context. Let’s build the comparison.
Share the length, width, soil type, traffic and budgets. Compare solutions for the same service delivered.
See XtremeM in actionView the technical dataExplore the launch offerExplore the watershed studyUnderstand the interconnected module systemDocument impacts and ESG indicators
Alain Bélanger · CEO – Beyond Sustainable Tech
alainb@beyonders.ca · +1 506-284-0005
A perspective to share
Documents in French, English and Spanish · fixed illustrative scenario