The town’s CAO is hoping a provincial grant opportunity might mean the town could save more than $1.5 million of municipal dollars on needed roadwork for Highway 26.
During Tuesday’s development and operations services standing committee meeting, the town’s chief administrative officer Sonya Skinner and treasurer Monica Quinlan brought forward information to councillors on an opportunity for the town to apply for the provincial 2023/24 Connecting Links Grant Program, which, if awarded, would pay for 90 per cent of the cost of resurfacing needed on Highway 26 between Cranberry Trail West to Osler Bluff Road.
It was necessary to bring the item to council’s attention as one of the stipulations for applying for the grant is that the town must commit to funding the remaining 10 per cent of the cost – which equates to $170,000.
Council is currently in a lame-duck period and is prohibited from voting through expenses exceeding $50,000 that haven’t previously been budgeted, however the application for the grant is due within the next month. The CAO, under delegated authority, can apply for the grant on council and the town’s behalf.
“This is not already in the budget. As this is needed work – the condition is poor – and the opportunity is so great...I did use my delegated authority to commit $170,000 of the future year’s budget (2023) should we receive (the grant),” said Skinner.
The Connecting Links funding helps municipalities pay for the construction and repair costs for municipal roads and bridges that connect two ends of a provincial highway through a community or to a border crossing. The Ministry of Transportation will provide funding up to 90 per cent, to a maximum of $3 million per road project, and up to $5 million per bridge project, of eligible capital costs for approved projects.
The total cost of the resurfacing of Highway 26 from Cranberry Trail West to Osler Bluff Road is expected to cost $1.7 million.
According to the town’s report on the project, this section of Highway 26 is classified as a semi-urban arterial road and was chosen due to its priority status within the town’s asset management plan. The current Pavement Condition Index (PCI) for this section of road is “poor” according to the levels of service within the plan.
The project will include a cold-in-place base plus a hot-mix asphalt resurface, along with portions of roadside drainage improvements.
During Tuesday’s meeting, Coun. Yvonne Hamlin asked whether bicycle lanes could be included as part of the project.
“This strikes me as one of these reconstruction projects where we should always be going the extra step,” said Hamlin.
Director of Public Works, Engineering and Environmental Services Peggy Slama noted that currently, the section of road has a paved shoulder, however the addition of bicycle lanes could be taken into consideration.
“This is just the first step of looking into what this project is going to be,” said Slama.
Skinner noted she had some initial concerns about putting bicycle lanes on a provincial highway.
“I’d like to take these suggestions to mull it over, perhaps with the active transportation and trails committee to look at the best places to invest our funds,” said Skinner, adding that when preliminary design of the project occurs there will be further opportunity for public and council consultation.
At the end of discussion, the council committee voted unanimously in favour of receiving the report.
