Four stimulus projects behind schedule
BY KATE JAIMET, THE OTTAWA CITIZENDECEMBER 3, 2009 11:02 PM
OTTAWA — Four major road-building projects funded by federal and provincial stimulus money are behind schedule, a top city official said Thursday, including one that requires a land purchase from the National Capital Commission.
But even if Ottawa ends up having to pay more than it expected for projects that miss the deadline, city treasurer Marian Simulik says that development fees will be able to make up a large part of the difference.
The city had hoped to start building a $20-million Hunt Club extension between Hawthorne Road and Highway 417 in late November or early December, but has run into delays purchasing property from the NCC. The project’s start has been pushed to February 2010, said Wayne Newell, the city’s director of infrastructure services.
Under the stimulus program, the federal and provincial governments agreed in June to fund two-thirds of the cost of infrastructure projects identified as “shovel-ready” by municipalities. Ottawa has 115 approved projects, worth $398 million. The money will be paid out as the projects progress, but if any project is not finished by March 2011, the funding will be cut off and the city will be left to pick up the remaining costs.
At the federal level, the government and opposition have been sparring over how much economic good the stimulus program is doing. The Liberals have criticized the government for not pushing real money into the economy fast enough, while the governing Conservatives say they’ve committed the money, but it’s largely up to municipalities to spend it.
In Ottawa, the city has spent $15 million so far, tendered 45 per cent of contracts, and completed five per cent of construction, Newell said.
Though most of Ottawa’s projects are proceeding without a hitch, four big ones worth a combined $186 million are experiencing “challenges,” Newell said. Besides the Hunt Club extension, they are:
-- the $65-million Hazeldean Road widening;
-- the $48-million Terry Fox Drive extension; and
-- the $53-million southwest Transitway extension.
Despite the fact they were labelled months ago as shovel-ready, many of these projects still require land acquisition or environmental approvals before they can go ahead.
“Shovel-ready means ready for completion by March 2011,” said Newell.
The widening of Hazeldean Road between Terry Fox Drive and Carp Road is “marginally behind schedule” as the city waits for approvals from the provincial Ministry of the Environment on the construction of water and sewer mains, Newell said. The city also requires an approval from the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority for a bridge over the Carp River. As well, some private property owners must be bought out.
The southwest Transitway extension south of Fallowfield Road requires some property acquisition, and is an exceptionally large and complicated project, Newell said.
The four-kilometre extension of Terry Fox Drive between Kanata Lakes and Morgan’s Grant requires a federal environmental assessment, which the infrastructure ministry has not yet approved. As well, the province has concerns about the road’s effect on species protected under Ontario’s Endangered Species Legislation: the American ginseng, butternut tree, and Blanding’s turtle. Work on the road cannot begin unless and until those environmental concerns are addressed.
Simulik said even if the city is left holding the bag to finish certain projects, it’s a cost the budget can absorb by delaying other infrastructure projects.
“I have a new capital budget every year,” she said. Councillors “can defer work they were going to do, say, in 2011, and use the money to fund these projects.”
She added that in the case of road projects such as Terry Fox, Hazeldean and Hunt Club, the majority of the construction costs would come out of fees charged to developers, not from taxpayers.
She said development fees for those roads were reduced because of the anticipated subsidies, but the city could jack them up again if the subsidies run out. “For the road projects, the risk is to them (developers), because we would be looking to use development charges.”
Newell said it’s too early to put a dollar value on the risk the city may be facing if it cannot complete the big projects before the stimulus money runs out.
“There’s not a number I can come up with today, because of where we’re at,” Newell said in a briefing to councillors and the media.
But he added that, despite the delays, he’s confident the projects will be completed on schedule. “At this point we’re confident that overall program can be implemented.”
Capital Councillor Clive Doucet said he doesn’t believe the work will be done on time, but thinks the federal and provincial governments will cut municipalities some slack. “I’ve never seen a project finish on time. My bet is they will extend (the deadline) anyways, because all the cities are in the same position.”
Doucet said he believes the entire program is wrong-headed, because too much money is being spent on roads and too little on cultural infrastructure.
Councillor Jacques Legendre said he was encouraged to hear that city staff are closely monitoring the progress of the projects, and will keep council informed of delays and risks.
“Yes, there are some delays. But I’ve also heard the message that … they’re fixable, and we shouldn’t have a problem in the end.”
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen
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