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City to seek money for Second Line, Fort Creek Aqueduct

City council will hear a staff recommendation to apply for government funding for two major local infrastructure projects at its meeting Monday.

City council will hear a staff recommendation to apply for government funding for two major local infrastructure projects at its meeting Monday.

One involves the third phase of the widening of Second Line, east of Pine Street to Black Road, the other for reconstruction of the Fort Creek Aqueduct.

The city is required by the province to initially submit these applications as Expressions of Interest (EOI) by September 19.

If these are approved by the province, Sault Ste. Marie would be on a shortlist of Ontario municipalities allowed to submit a full application in December.

The province has said successful funding applications will be announced in 2015.

The city will be applying for funding for the Second Line project through the province's recently announced $100 million Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund (OCIF).

50 percent of funding from that program is based on a government formula with no application required, whereas the other 50 percent of funding available to municipalities is based on the application process.

If the Second Line project is ultimately approved by the province, the city would receive half the funding, or $2 million, required for the $4 million widening.

The city set aside more than $1.3 million of its own money for the project in the 2015 capital budget, with the remaining $665,000 expected to come from   non-application based provincial funding and potential surpluses from the 2014 capital and urban only budgets.

The city will be applying for funding for the Fort Creek Aqueduct reconstruction through the recently announced joint federal-provincial Build Canada Fund-Small Communities Fund (BCF-SCF).

Full reconstruction of the aqueduct, including the area from Queen Street West to John Street and along Wellington Street to Carmen's Way, is a $31 million project.

If successful in its application, the city would receive two-thirds of the funding for this project from the province and the federal government, the city's share being $10.3 million.

$10 million has been set aside by the city for aqueducts and bridges in its five year capital plan, at $2 million a year, for 2015-2019.

At this point, a city staff report notes, an expression of interest might be made for $23 million for the aqueduct area on John Street only, as environmental assessments may need to be done upstream of the John Street and Wellington Street intersection.   

Three other projects had originally been considered by the city for the funding applications.

They were an extension of Sackville Road north to Third Line (a $4 million project), a $16 million road improvement from east of the hospital entrance on Third Line to Black Road and extending to McNabb Street, and a $800,000 roof replacement for the City Transit building. 

Ultimately, staff identified Second Line widening and the Fort Creek Aqueduct as top priority.

The aqueduct is a vital part of the city's flood control infrastructure, and needs to be replaced over the next several years.

 


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Darren Taylor

About the Author: Darren Taylor

Darren Taylor is a news reporter and photographer in Sault Ste Marie. He regularly covers community events, political announcements and numerous board meetings. With a background in broadcast journalism, Darren has worked in the media since 1996.
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