By Mark Buckshon
Ottawa Construction News staff writer
The City of Ottawa is on track to spending $800 million on infrastructure projects this year, in line with recent years’ budgets, allowing for inflation and efforts to reduce the city’s infrastructure deficit.
Mayor Mark Sutcliffe and several councillors arranged a media event on May 29 to highlight the start of the city’s “construction season” and explain where the funds have been allocated. The $800 million does not include ongoing work on the $4.6 billion Light Rail Transit (LRT) expansion, the police budget, and the $335 million Ottawa Public Library/Library and Archives Joint Facility (Ādisōke).
“During the budget process for 2023, we looked at the infrastructure deficit in Ottawa and we continue to try to close the gap on that,” Sutcliffe said. “It’s always a challenge. We have lots of areas of the city where there’s aging infrastructure and lots of competing demands and priorities. So it’s always a challenge to choose what we’re going to invest in and what has to wait. And we continue to do that very thoughtfully and carefully.
“But we are closing the gap on the infrastructure deficit from a few years ago.”
He said, despite inflation and labour shortages, the budget is sufficient to complete the projects planned for the year.
“We are on track and there are always challenges with construction projects, but there are contingencies built into the budgets,” he said. “It is May 2023 and its almost June so a lot of the factors that would throw off schedules and lead to higher expenses we would know already. There are always going to be surprises and challenges with construction projects, we know that. But I am confident that we can achieve what we need to with the budget that has been set out for 2023.”
A city statement breaks down the $800 million construction investment to include:
- $136 million for road rehabilitation including resurfacing, geotechnical, guiderails, rural road upgrades and preservation treatments;
- $34.4 million for bridge structures;
- $61 million buildings and parks;
- $7.7 million to new sidewalks and pathways;
- $245.9 million for integrated road-water-sewer reconstruction projects; and
- $15.7 million for culverts (stormwater structures).
The city staged the media event at the site of one of the integrated reconstruction projects, a $47 million initiative to rebuild (above and below ground) Albert, Queen and Slater streets and Bronson Avenue in the city’s downtown. The work includes the replacement of aging sewers and watermains, and allow for combined sewer separation, which the city says would reduce the potential for combined sewer overflows and basement flooding in the area.
“The work being done here at the reconstruction of Albert, Queen, Slater and Bronson is one of many projects across the city that will see the renewal of aging infrastructure combined with new finishing elements designed to offer increased safety, comfort and mobility for all users,” said transportation committee chair Coun. Tim Tierney. “This extensive corridor in a busy part of our city is on track for completion in the fall of 2024.”
Other ongoing projects include:
- Bank Street renewal
- Carlington Heights Pumping Station upgrade
- Chief William Commanda Bridge
- Greenfield/Main/Hawthorne reconstruction
- Montreal Road revitalization
- Strandherd Drive widening
