The province has come up with $14 million to follow through on its promise to help fund Ray Gibbon Drive.
Alberta Transportation Minister Luke Ouellette announced Tuesday the province would give St. Albert $14.3 million to cover costs the city incurred while building Ray Gibbon Drive.
"This is about investing in our future highway network and protecting the right-of-way for future growth," he said in a press release.
The cash follows through on a letter he wrote to Mayor Nolan Crouse in 2009 when he promised to reimburse the city the $45.4 million it planned to spend to upgrade Ray Gibbon Dr. to provincial highway standards. The money covers costs the city incurred while building the first two stages of the road from 137 Avenue to Giroux Road.
The money will allow the city to finalize its plans for the road's third stage to Villeneuve Road, said Crouse. "We're thrilled the cash has been transferred to us."
But stage three won't happen until the province comes up with the remaining $31 million it promised, Crouse said. "We are not going to do the construction until we're clear on when we're going to get the cash."
Long time coming
Back in 2007, Premier Ed Stelmach met with then-mayor Paul Chalifoux and agreed that Ray Gibbon Drive would eventually become a provincial highway linking into Highway 2. The province informally agreed to cover the cost of upgrading the road to highway standards, but didn't actually follow through until this week.
It's been a long wait, said St. Albert MLA Ken Allred. "I guess 'finally' [to put it] in one word." The money comes out of the province's operating surplus, which wasn't finalized until recently.
The city spent about $45.9 million on the first two stages of Ray Gibbon Drive, said Neil Jamieson, the city's general manager of planning and engineering, about $19 million of which was used to meet provincial highway standards. (The $14-million commitment was based on an earlier estimate.) The province previously committed about $7 million to the project through various grants.
Allred said he wasn't sure when the province would have the $31 million needed to cover the costs of stage three, but didn't think it would be in this year's budget.
"I would certainly hope it would be paid out in full in the next three years."
St. Albert will not be able to build stage three without a firm indication as to when that cash would be available, Crouse said.
"We can't build the road and get the money two to three years from now," he said. "We need the construction and the cash to be in the same year." The city would likely cover the cost of construction through short-term borrowing.
City staff say they have finished design and engineering work for stage three, but were waiting for provincial funds before going to tender.
Stage three will cost about $43.3 million, and is meant to route heavy truck traffic around St. Albert and service the annexed lands. It would also link into the completed Anthony Henday Drive.
