Park ready. Bridge not.
County preparing timeline for roadwork this summer
The photos above show how Northumberland County has transformed two Campbellford homes into a small parkette.
The homes on Second Street at Saskatoon Avenue were demolished in hopes that money will be found somewhere to pay for the planned new bridge across the Trent River. Demolition has not yet started on a third home on the west side of the river, but it should happen soon.
Several times recently I’ve been asked: Are we ever going to get a bridge and a new hospital? How can we afford both?
My current answer is that the money comes from different accounts and different levels of government, not all out of the same pot. Although, ultimately there is only one group of taxpayers. I think we will have a new hospital constructed by 2033, or so. No idea what the cost will be. Higher than we can imagine, is a safe bet.
My current best guess is that we’re unlikely to see a new bridge built in that same time frame. The estimated $56 million cost is too much for the county to bear on its own, as I’ve written before, and neither Queen’s Park nor Ottawa seem likely to cough up $50 million.
In the past couple of years, the county has asked the province for support each summer at the convention of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario when they get a chance to lobby cabinet ministers. The response has been a firm no.
This year the bridge isn’t even on wish list the county reps are taking to the conference in August. But maybe it can persuade Prime Minister Mark Carney that a bridge here would be a major economic project. Maybe.
Meanwhile, the county will announce soon the dates work will start on several projects in Trent Hills.
Communications Director Kate Campbell says the county has awarded the tenders for three projects in the municipality – paving a large section of County Road 30; replacing a culvert on County Road 25 South of Hastings; and repairing the bridge across the Trent River in the hamlet of that name.
I’ve written about the details of those projects here.
“We will put out formal communications sharing the start dates for each project once known, and signs will be posted well in advance,” Campbell said.
I wrote last week about the confusing signs on CR 30 for the paving project that said the work would cost $1.5 million in French and $2 million in English. They are no longer confusing, but the solution was to settle on $2 million in either language. Oh, well.
You can read all Trent Hills News stories on my website here.