At least two members of Grey Highlands council are wondering about the possible use of the private Talisman lands at a road detour if bridges near Kimberley must be closed to traffic.
At a committee of the whole meeting on Nov. 27, Grey Highlands council spent more than an hour discussing the 2024 bridge inspections report that was presented to council on Nov. 7.
The report details that, over the next ten years, Grey Highlands faces an excess of $20 million in bridge repair and replacement costs.
One of the most expensive bridge projects on the list is a series of four bridge structures on Sideroad 7A near Kimberley. The report shows that three of the four structures need to be replaced/upgraded over the next three years at a cost of more than $3.3 million.
Sideroad 7A is located just south of the privately owned Talisman lands, which were once the home of a hotel/ski/golf course resort. The Talisman lands are now in the hands of two separate owners. The owners of the lower part of the property (former golf course area) have submitted a development application for the property and the owners of the property that includes the former resort buildings have announced plans for a $400 million spa project.
During the discussion about the bridge report, councillors Joel Loughead and Nadia Dubyk wondered about the possibility of closing the bridge structures on Sideroad 7A and re-routing the traffic through the Talisman property.
Dubyk and Loughead also wondered if the owners/developers of the Talisman lands had any responsibility for helping upgrade/replace the bridges should their development plans proceed.
Currently, the only year-round access to Sideroad 7A is from Grey County Road 7. The sideroad does go up over the escarpment, but that section of road is not maintained in the winter months. Closing the bridges would effectively mean several property owners on Shilvock Sideroad (which can only be accessed from Sideroad 7A) would not have road access to the larger road system without crossing the Talisman property.
“In the winter, there is no other legal way to get out,” Coun. Dan Wickens noted.
Loughead said the four bridges on the sideroad serve an “extremely small amount of traffic” and his preference would be to look at the option of closing the bridges and having traffic connect to other roads via the Talisman property. He said it was difficult to support such huge capital costs for bridges not frequently used.
“I’d hate to rush and make any decisions about (the four bridges),” he said.
Municipal staff warned that it would be an extensive and complicated process to contemplate re-routing traffic over land that is privately owned.
“It’s a pretty complex question,” said Chris Cornfield, director of transportation and public spaces. “Currently it’s a private road. There’s no connection to Sideroad 7A.”
The Talisman properties are on the privately owned Talisman Mountain Drive, which connects with County Road 7.
Shawn Moyer, director of environmental services, also pointed out that the main municipal waterline that runs into Kimberley is attached to the bridge structures.
“That is the one trunk main that feeds the village,” Moyer noted.
Dubyk asked if staff would be able to provide a “high level” cost estimate for what a detour through the Talisman property would look like as compared to the millions needed to upgrade the four bridges.
“Is there a way to ballpark it?” Dubyk asked.
Cornfield said for such a scenario to emerge there would have to be “some kind of negotiation” between the municipality and the Talisman landowners.
“I don’t know where to start,” he said. “I could throw a number out and it would mean nothing.”
Cornfield also said it would be possible to require the Talisman developers to contribute to infrastructure needs around their development. He said such a scenario would have to be “dealt with through the planning process” and wouldn’t be dissimilar from requiring a developer to contribute to upgrading a stormwater system.
No decisions on the bridge report were made at the committee of the whole meeting. Staff noted that 2025 budget recommendations would be coming out of the bridge inspection report for council to consider during the upcoming budget process.
