The United Counties of Prescott and Russell (UCPR) has a plan for widening County Road 17, but it will take time and a lot of money.
On Wednesday, June 25, UCPR council adopted a resolution which will see $2.3 million allocated during the next three years for design work required for a five-phase, $121.2 million project to widen the 9.1-kilometre section of highway from the City of Ottawa boundary to County Road 8 to four lanes with space for multi-use paths. All five phases of the project will take about 11 years to complete.
The plan is within the UCPR’s new Asset Management Plan, which council also adopted on June 25.
The daily traffic volume on the two-lane section of County Road 17 currently exceeds 22,500 vehicles. The road is a major connection to Highway 174 in Ottawa. In 1998, the Ontario government transferred responsibility for what was then a section of Highway 17 to the UCPR and Ottawa. Currently, the province is planning to re-assume responsibility for the section within Ottawa, but not the UCPR. The resolution that council adopted to proceed with the plan notes that in the short term, 3,000 new residential units and in the long term, 8,500 new residential units are anticipated to be added in Clarence-Rockland and Alfred and Plantagenet, which will further increase traffic on County Road 17.
The UCPR has already set aside nearly $750,000 to specifically fund the early-stage design and planning work necessary for the County Road 17 upgrade. An Environmental Assessment (EA) for the project was completed in 2016 and is set to expire in 2026.
To fund the County Road 17 project and other asset management obligations, the average yearly tax rate increase during the next nine years in the UCPR will be 3.14 per cent. However, the amount is likely to be 4.88 per cent for 2026 to 2028.
“Is there a way to soften that earlier on so that we spread it out over those 10 years better?” asked Russell Township Mayor Mike Tarnowski.
Treasurer Valérie Parisien said she tried, but doing so would affect the UCPR’s debt level and there is limited leverage.
Champlain Township Mayor Normand Riopel also expressed concern about the impact on budget numbers.
Clarence-Rockland Mayor Mario Zanth said a plan is necessary so that the UCPR can qualify for grants from other levels of government.
“This is what it takes to be shovel-ready in order to go and get those grants from the federal government and provincial government. But we’re not going to get a penny if we don’t start,” Zanth said.
He added there will likely be financial surprises along the way but grant funding will counter those surprises.
Riopel anticipated there will be a good return on investment for the County Road 17 project.
However, The Nation Mayor Francis Brière was skeptical.
“This is something I can’t see growth paying for,” Brière said.
“We’re going to put all of this money on one road, and I can’t see this paying off in the long run,” he added.
Zanth said he does not understand why only the County Road 17 project is expected to show a return on investment, especially when there is already proof of anticipated growth in Rockland, and the provincial government being less restrictive of development.
Director of Public Works Jérémie Bouchard said that currently, the plan is only to estimate the costs and benefits.
“It’s actually a prelude to budget discussions we’re going to have this fall,” was how Chief Administrative Officer Stéphane Parisien described the plan.
