DAWSON CREEK, B.C. – Dawson Creek council has green-lit the application process for a provincial grant to cover the 102nd Avenue Crossing Replacement Project.
The project would replace the flood-prone existing culverts with a clear span bridge. The current crossing is undersized and has overtopped the roadway in recent floods, according to the City.
By completing upgrades to the crossing, there will also be reduced sedimentation upstream and decreased erosion downstream.
The City highlighted several implications in their report, including the 2020 flood where neighbourhoods south and west of the crossing were cut off from EMS access.
The project’s estimated cost is just under $6 million, including a 20 per cent contingency.
If the grant application, through the BC Adaptation, Resilience & Disaster Mitigation (ARDM) Program, goes through, the City commits to associated ineligible costs and overruns.
At a council meeting on Monday, concerns were expressed surrounding the risks associated with not getting the grant. Council doesn’t want to be forced to use tax funds if they do not receive the grant for 100% of the project cost.
After discussing the project and the budget at length, council noted that most of the capital projects undertaken in the last 6 years had been completed on budget.
A motion was carried to revisit the agreement if the application fails.
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