St. Albert city council is looking to increase the budget of the ongoing St. Albert Trail expansion by $5.5 million, and could look to borrow more for the project in the future.
On April 11, a council committee heard from City administration that the scope of the work for both north St. Albert Trail and Ray Gibbon Drive has grown in recent years, leading to an increase in costs. Council has been asked to approve a budget increase of $5.5 million for St. Albert Trail, (a $4.2-million increase plus contingency).
The majority of the increase will be funded through the project's existing borrowing bylaw, which has a ceiling of $26 million. According to the City's 2022 budget, the city had $7.5 million in outstanding debt for the project as of 2021.
However, a $500,000 portion will be recovered from a cost-sharing agreement with Landrex for improvements at Coal Mine Road.
When the project began, the City estimated the total cost at $18.95 million. Estimates now place that number at $36.15 million.
The expansion is planned in three phases. Phase one — which includes north of Boudreau Road to north of Coal Mine Road — is set for completed construction this year.
Phase two — which expands the widening north of Coal Mine Road to north of Everitt Drive — is planned for completion in 2022. An administrative backgrounder accompanying the request for additional funding noted some work may be performed in 2023, pending confirmation of the work plan from the contractor.
Phase three — spanning from north of Everitt Drive North, to north of Neil Ross Road — is projected for completion in 2023/24.
LRT alignment boosts cost
Dean Schick, St. Albert’s transportation manager, told council's committee April 11 that one major source of increased funding for the project is an additional $6 million to preserve the road’s alignment for future LRT plans.
In 2020, St. Albert tweaked the alignment for a planned LRT running parallel to St. Albert Trail. The proposed alignment connects with Nakî Transit Centre and runs north on St. Albert Trail’s east side, before crossing to the west at Erin Ridge Road/Villeneuve Road.
Former LRT plans from 2015 had the LRT cross St. Albert Trail at Erin Ridge Road/Villeneuve Road, rather than at Everitt Drive North, which plans formerly called for.
Now, instead of adding travel lanes to widen the road, the City is maintaining St. Albert Trail’s northbound lanes to accommodate the LRT on the west side of the trail. This means the southbound lanes had to be realigned, boosting costs.
Detailed design for the St. Albert Trail widening took place in 2018. According to an administrative backgrounder accompanying the request for additional funding, the corridor widening advanced after the new LRT alignment received approval from design into construction without an immediate amendment to its budget.
By planning ahead and preserving the northbound lanes, the City will be able to avoid a “redesign, removal, or elimination of the investment of this immediate project,” Schick said in the backgrounder.
During the committee meeting, Schick emphasized that the trail widening is not delivering the LRT.
“It is solely focused on protecting the current approved corridor for LRT, which is the St. Albert Trail corridor,” Schick said.
Other additional funding requirements for the project include $2 million for stormwater management and utility design changes; $1 million for a Villeneuve Road roundabout (as opposed to a standard intersection); $500,000 for additional engineering and construction management costs; and $200,000 for a dual left turn at the Coal Mine Road intersection.
The stormwater management costs are a result of a substantial portion of utilities requiring additional insulation to protect from seasonal impacts; the City found substantial areas of these utilities will need to be placed close to the surface of the ground.
The City is looking to increase the current budget of $18.95 million by $4.2 million to account for a projected deficit at the end of phases one and two.
Construction for phase three, spanning from north of Everitt Drive North to north of Neil Ross Road, is now projected to cost approximately $13 million.
City spokesperson Cory Sinclair said in an email Thursday that the project charter for phase three of St. Albert Trail will come before council for consideration during budget deliberations next year.
After the project charter is approved by council, administration will determine if additional debt is required to fund the project, Sinclair said, and a borrowing bylaw will be brought forward.
