Foothills is taking on paving and maintenance projects with its provincial dollars.
Council approved the 2021 paving program at its March 24 meeting, and the County will be going to tender on roadwork for the summer using Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI) funds.
The MSI program was expected to end this year and be replaced by the new Local Government Fiscal Framework, but it was extended to 2023 in the Province’s budget tabled in February. Municipalities are set to receive less than half regular MSI funding in 2022 and 2023.
Municipal manager Harry Riva Cambrin said this year the County received “quite a bonus,” with $8.2 million allocated to Foothills versus about $6 million in 2020.
“It was just an advance on the coming years,” said Riva Cambrin. “That’s happened before in the past actually – it came out of the Ralph Klein playbook.
“But it’s always good to have the money in the bank instead of worrying you may not get it.”
The County will be putting its MSI funding to good use, taking on paving projects and other infrastructure maintenance in 2021, said Jeff Edgington, manager of infrastructure and public works.
One of the more major projects is paving 226 Ave. from 64 Street W. to 96 Street W., as well as 64 Street W. from 226 Ave. to 198 Ave., at the City of Calgary boundary, worth about $3.5 million and funded by debenture this year, he said.
In addition, chip seal will be applied on 274 Ave. from 2253 Drive W. to Highway 552 at a cost of about $180,000 and the Longview curves on Coal Trail are on the list for the base-and-pave program at an estimated cost of $1.7 million.
Mike Gallant, deputy director of operations, said 274 Ave. was originally finished with maintainable road oil (MRO) before having chip seal applied, which has lasted 20 years. He said it needs to be addressed this year, but recommended not paving it and reapplying the chip seal instead.
“If we can get the same life out of it again, I think a chip seal would be sufficient,” said Gallant. “If we out the right amount of base on it, it could accommodate paving right over top of the chip seal also, so that could save money down the road.”
The Longview curves on Coal Trail have caused maintenance issues and Gallant said paving them could help curb the problem.
“I don’t know if there’s a spring in there, but there’s an issue for sure with water,” he said. “I think if we could base and pave it, it would definitely allow us to spend time elsewhere.”
About $25,000 is being allocated to maintain concrete sidewalks and pathways in hamlets, including the Cayley east path.
“It seems like it was an appropriate use of those funds for safety concerns in Cayley,” said Edgington.
The County is also earmarking $500,000 for bridge repairs and maintenance, such as cap repairs, on bridges that may be nearing the end of their lifespan, he said.
“A lot of them can be extended by doing some miscellaneous work to them,” said Edgington.
