CARROT RIVER — Completion for Carrot River’s Main Street paving project is set for the end of August to early September with an estimated cost of $892,000 – $100,000 less than mid-July estimates.
Paving is focusing on Carrot River’s Main Street from south where it intersects with Railway Avenue to the north side where it intersects with Third Avenue. It will include sidewalk as well as curb and gutter repairs.
On July 13, Carrot River council passed a motion authorizing administration to seek out a $200,000 loan in order to meet quotes for the Main Street paving project.
Paramount Paving was the sole company who applied for the tender, bidding a little over $1 million. The town previously budgeted $825,000 for the project, which includes a debenture loan for $655,000.
Due to the increased cost for the tender, the town chose to limit the scope of the project, eliminating the planned curb extensions. This took $57,000 off the total cost, bringing the project to about $992,000.
Brennan Hall, Carrot River’s administrator, attributed the increased cost to supply and demand, noting that they don’t believe prices will go down over the next year.
“Our Main Street right now looks terrible, the pavement is broken, there are potholes that are the size of craters, half of it is gravel on the one side, it’s very poor looking and very dangerous in some spots for not only just vehicle wear and tear but for kids, twisted ankles and whatnot,” Hall said.
“It’s huge to have this done because it’s not a nice looking street, it’s not a safe street.”
Once excavation began in late July, the project’s cost was reduced again as contractors learned they didn’t need to install as much material as previously anticipated, saving the town $100,000 – bringing the new project cost to $892,000.
Hall said that although council approved a loan, depending on the timeline with reimbursements for grants on the $3.6 million water treatment plant project, they may not need it.
The water treatment project was approved for funding under the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program in 2018 where it received $1.2 million from the federal government and up to 33 per cent of the total cost from the province. Hall said that some of the covered work was done using municipal funds, which will then be reimbursed through claims.
“We might be getting a cheque for the reimbursement of the water treatment plant from the government for $200,000 eventually, but we just don’t know when,” he said.
“If we had all that money back from the water treatment plant project, we probably wouldn’t have to worry about anything.”
Hall said at the current budget trajectory, the town is expected to finish the 2021 year with a $5,000 to $10,000 annual surplus.
