Faced with bad weather and a looming deadline, Sturgeon County is asking the federal government to reconsider the March 2011 deadline to complete construction on 195 Avenue.
County councillors unanimously approved a motion last week to ask local MP Brent Rathgeber to plead their case for a project extension.
The project, which is a massive upgrade of the road between Highway 28 and Edmonton city limits, is being paid for with stimulus funds from the federal government.
Those funds were brought in as part of the 2009 budget and were set to expire after two years to make sure funds were spent quickly to get people back to work.
Coun. Don McGeachy said the county has been working on the project as quickly as possible, but has been stymied by Mother Nature all summer long.
“It has just been weather,” he said, explaining the delays. “Every little bit of moisture that you get in there delays things.”
The project is about 90 per cent complete, but due to the delays the county is unsure if it can be completed on time.
The original project budget was set at almost $10 million with the province and the federal government picking up two-thirds of the cost.
McGeachy said the county is worried about the uncertainty and wants an extension just to be safe.
“It just doesn’t look like it is going to get completed.”
Rathgeber said he has received the county’s letter and also met with Sturgeon Mayor Don Rigney last week. He plans to strongly push the county’s case.
“I haven’t promised anything to Sturgeon County, but I think we are going to be able to put forward a good case.”
Rathgeber said he suspects the deadline was put in place in large part because it coincides with the federal government’s fiscal year, but with the way construction works in Canada it could be a little unrealistic.
“For most projects March 31 may as well be Nov. 15.”
He said he understands that Sturgeon could face a very large bill to pay if they don’t receive the extension.
“It is a significant financial hit if they do not complete this on time.”
He said he believes the government will push aggressively to have projects completed on time, but it doesn’t mean there is no room to be flexible.
“The minister has indicated on more than one occasion that we really want these projects completed on time, but if there are circumstances, considerations will be made.”
Under the terms of the grant the federal government can remove funding if the projects aren’t completed on time or it can refuse to fund any of the uncompleted work.
Morinville is paying for its cultural centre using the same grant program and has previously been concerned about the looming deadline.
Coun. Paul Krauskopf said he toured the cultural centre last week however and things look on schedule.
“Things are looking pretty good,” he said. “I think we will be OK.”
