CORNWALL – County Council has thrown its support behind a joint bid with South Dundas for the Morrisburg roundabout and street-scape project, with the possibility of breaking ground on the project this fall.
SDG council approved moving forward on the joint project at its April 15th regular meeting.
Ben de Haan, director of transportation and planning services for the county, told council that the project is in the design phase and would be considered shovel-ready by the time the application was made.
He was optimistic the $2.3 million project would receive funding because it was a joint project between two municipalities.
“There are a lot of things going for this project,” de Haan said.
“It’s a joint project between two municipalities, it’s community building, and increases safety.”
The project will include the roundabout at County Road 2 and 31, a center median on County Road 2 from Laurier Drive to Canadian Tire, sidewalks and pedestrian cross-overs, underground infrastructure repairs, lighting, and landscaping.
“South Dundas is a very willing participant in the project,” councillor Steven Byvelds told county council.
He said that over 100 people attended the public consultation and that three-quarters of the comments were positive.
Councillor Bryan McGillis asked what the issues were with the intersection.
de Haan responded that there were many issues with the intersection.
“The condition of the asphalt is poor. Paving issues. The signal controllers. We know we have to do something out there with that intersection. Everything needs to be done.”
Byvelds added that there had been a fatal vehicle accident in 2017, and a pedestrian accident last year at that intersection.
“There are lots of things that this project checks off the box in the application guidelines,” he added.
The Counties and South Dundas will each be responsible for 16.67 per cent of the project total. Both municipalities could apply for up to $5 million each in funding under the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program. The federal and provincial governments would each contribute one-third of the funding through this program.
de Haan told the council that if the ICIP application was approved, that the county could break ground on the project this fall.
“It wouldn’t be completed by the end of this year’s construction season but we could get a good start on it,” he said.
The funding window for ICIP funding is May 14th.
