ST. PAUL - The County of St. Paul has been successful in accessing grant funding for two of the five bridge files it submitted for shovel ready projects under the province's program to help stimulate economic recovery and support job creation.
The county will receive a Strategic Transportation Infrastructure Program (STIP) grant representing 75 per cent of the estimated eligible project costs for Bridge File 08786 and Bridge File 77649. Bridge File 08786 has grant funding up to $402,000 and Bridge File 77649 has funding up to $639,750.
During discussions at the July 14 council meeting, Director of Public Works Daniel Reid said he felt one of the bridges was still in "pretty good shape." He also noted that work could be done in 2021 and there was "no rush" on the files. Both files are in the St. Lina area, confirmed Reid after the meeting.
The province indicated that the final grant amount will be based on the actual eligible costs at the time of the project completion, and that no cost increases can be considered, said CAO Sheila Kitz. Administration has started conversations with engineers on these two projects to finalize engineering design and get the projects ready for tendering.
The 2020 capital budget did not include funding for these bridge replacements, so administration is needing approval to cover the municipal portion of the projects, which is estimated at $134,000 for BF 08786 and $213,250 for BF 77649. One of the recommendations put before council was to take funds from the county's unrestricted surplus, which has a current balance of $6.7 million.
A motion to table a decision on the issue was carried
Unbudgeted expenditures
Shortly after the discussion about the bridge file funding, administration presented council with three projects that need to be done this season, as a result of spring flooding caused by snow thaw and rain events.
Work at the Miller Road Bridge has to be done. The municipality received emergency approval from Alberta Environment to replace the bridge file. The anticipated cost of replacing the bridge culvert is $159,202. Work was expected to be done in mid-July.
The county also received emergency approval from Alberta Environment to replace the Cork Hall Bridge File. Work is expected to take place in mid-August and will cost $117,565. Public Works staff continue to monitor the culvert to ensure it doesn't entirely fail, making the road impassible.
The third project is the Armistice Road culvert. The road and culvert were washed away during a rain event in early June. The cost to repair the road and culvert was $48,482.
The total unbudgeted costs of the repairs will be $325,249. Motions to approve each of the three projects were carried, with funds coming from the municipality's unrestricted surplus.
