As road construction season approaches, the United Counties of Prescott and Russell (UCPR) is facing extra costs for projects.
On March 27, UCPR council granted the contract for repaving of County Road 17 between Highway 34 and east of Tupper Street in Hawkesbury to Roto-Mill Inc. at a cost of $581,335 plus sales taxes. However, additional associated costs with the paving project are estimated at $870,000 which means the total project cost will exceed the $1,291,000 allocated in the 2024 budget by $170,000. The Roto-Mill tender was the lowest of the two submitted to the UCPR.
Council agreed to a staff recommendation to have the paving work completed exclusively during daytime hours rather than overnight, which will result in a savings of about $69,500. The remaining deficit for the County Road 17 paving project will be covered by $32,000 from an Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund grant the UCPR received. Additional funds from reserves or surpluses will be used if necessary.
UCPR council has also approved proceeding with utility relocation work necessary for the rehabilitation of County Road 16 in The Nation between County Road 8 and 100 metres from Concession Road 14. The cost of the utility relocation work is $90,000 plus sales tax.
An unspecified deficit is projected on the total cost of the rehabilitation project. To eliminate this deficit, the rehabilitated road will be eight metres wide instead of 9.3 metres wide.
A new roundabout at the intersection of County Road 5 (Limoges Road) and Route 300 will cost about $500,000 more than the $3 million allocated for the project in the 2024 UCPR budget.
On March 27, UCPR council approved granting the construction contract for the new traffic circle to GIP Paving at a cost of $3,100,549. The GIP tender was the lowest of three received by the UCPR. To accommodate the associated costs such as engineering services and utility location, council agreed to the request of the Public Works Department to increase the project budget to $3,500,000. The additional cost will be covered through a reserve fund.
