After waiting for the complete details to come from the federal government regarding the future of infrastructure funding, cities across the country made their applications to Ottawa, and the City of Estevan has a number of irons in that fire.
The City of Estevan forwarded five projects they hope will be earmarked for funding, as the deadline for first intake of applications under the Provincial-Territorial Infrastructure Component of the New Building Canada Fund closed on Jan. 12. Mayor Roy Ludwig has noted the City is in the midst of an infrastructure deficit, in part due to an explosion of growth over the past decade.
With participation in these funding models, he and the City administration hope some additional funds can relieve some of the local burden.
The New Building Canada Fund is a $14 billion federal infrastructure investment. Saskatchewan is expecting to receive $436.7 million in the next 10 years as part of the PTIC.
The City of Estevan has applied for projects that include wastewater treatment plant upgrades, equipment for the new biosolids building, a water pipeline from Rafferty Reservoir, an expansion of Sister Roddy Road, and a grade separation project that would see an over or under pass crossing the rail line that currently splits Estevan down the middle.
Estevan is hoping one or more of these projects will receive funding, though at the earliest none of the projects would begin construction until 2016. For each project that is funded, the costs are shared by the federal and provincial governments as well as the City. Each party would provide one-third of the funding.
Ludwig said the water pipeline project to Rafferty is a high priority as it deals with drinking water in the city. Estevan currently draws its water supply from Boundary Dam Reservoir, and has presented the water treatment crew with trouble for some time.
Ludwig noted water that comes from Boundary Dam has too many undissolved solids, which make the water “opaque” and not clear enough to treat with ultra-violet.
“We’ve talked about this for awhile, drawing water from Rafferty and getting a second intake,” said Ludwig. “It’s not critical at this point for us changing our water over to Rafferty. It’s something we would like to do. Right now it’s in the queue.”
Ludwig said the City has been told the only way they would be able to receive any funding from the federal program is to have a “shelf-ready” project. These are projects the City doesn’t plan on undertaking until they receive funding assistance from other levels of government, but Ludwig said the engineering work is done and the projects are ready when the funds arrive.
“Now we have shelf-ready projects. We’ve got the engineering and that done. (We’ve been told) if we’re going to be successful, we have to first of all go that route. Now we’ve done that, and hopefully, one of these times we’ll be successful,” said Ludwig.
The wastewater treatment plant requires upgrades inside the building to the tune of about $1 million. The City is also looking at upgrades to the water treatment plant, which they expect to cost about $4 to $5 million. Ludwig said they have both been engineered, as have the plans for Sister Roddy Road.
The project is estimated at $14 million and would see Sister Roddy Road paved and expanded from where it meets Highway 39 and King Street right to the heavy truck bypass north of the city.
The construction would include intersection improvements that would include traffic lights as well as turning Sister Roddy Road into a four-lane street. The City expects that northwest area to be a major point of growth with the Meadows, a residential development that has been in planning and negotiating stages for the last few years.
Ludwig said that project would likely take less priority than the water work.
“Until some substantial building takes place there, we can get by with the Sister Roddy as it is,” he said.
The grade separation project, which would most likely see an underpass run beneath the railway connecting Souris Avenue North and South, is a project that has been bandied about at the City level for decades. Though waiting for a slow moving train is a thorn in many a commuters side, the project may be the least likely to be funded at this time.
For each of these projects, the City is in a process of waiting. Those projects that don’t receive funding this time around will be resubmitted in future years in the hopes of getting the funding next time.
Those that are approved would allow the City to put the project in its schedule.
“I know it’s a wish list,” said Ludwig. “We want to put our best foot out there and see what we can get.”
