Province ‘Links’ more than $2M to resurface section of Bloomfield Main

Tyler Allsopp, MPP Bay of Quinte, announces Connecting Links funding of up to $2,058,969 to resurface 1.1 km of Bloomfield Main Street from County Road 33, to Corey Street.

While the County is pleased to welcome investment of up to $2,058,969 to resurface 1.1 kilometres of Bloomfield Main Street, the announcement was greeted with concern it was not necessary, and could have waited until a larger project was underway, such as sewers, or be used on any of the many crumbling road surfaces.

The funding is to resurface the roadway from County Road 33, through downtown, to Corey Street, with partial replacement of concrete barrier curb and driveway depressions as required, and partial sidewalk replacement as necessary. Detailed design is to happen this fall, followed by tendering, and the surface work, expected to take eight to 10 weeks,  in 2026, – keeping one lane open. Work on a contingency plan for parking was promised.

The funding, through the Ministry of Transportation’s Connecting Links program, only applies to repair roadways or bridges that connect two ends of a provincial highway through a community. The MTO pays for 90 per cent of the project.

Shryl Nussey, owner of several businesses on Bloomfield Main for decades, told Allsopp the money would have been better spent in so many other ways – on other roads, or on sewers as Bloomfield is still on septic. She also expressed concern that businesses still coming out of the COVID-19 years do not need construction disruption during tourist season.

“If this road was pot-holed, and if I was walking down the sidewalk like I did this morning… and there were holes and tripping, and was cracked, I would be like, please, help us. But it doesn’t look that bad to me. Why can’t it wait until we can do the sewers, maybe in three or four years?… The road is 95 per cent good. What’s not good is not being able to flush your toilet. Smart money says do it at the same time.”

Allsopp stated he appreciated hearing her viewpoint and noted he could “bring it to the minister to see if there are opportunities to combine some projects, or bring in some other funding.”

“I think from the provincial standpoint, you said, ‘why this section and not other sections’ because we do appreciate there’s a lot of roads in Prince Edward County that need to get done. You mentioned Doxee. I biked down that road many times, and Victoria Road,” said Allsopp, sharing a quick chuckle about care biking needed, due to the poor condition of both those roads.

“And you said do they think we’re small potatoes out here? I would suggest this announcement demonstrates the opposite – that we’re committed to Prince Edward County. We’re committed to the infrastructure. We want to make sure you have high quality roads, high quality water works and we’ve provided some money… The municipality had applied for the funding and received it, so it wasn’t like, we just thought, where can we put two million dollars.”

Allsopp added understanding as a former business owner on College Street, in Belleville, when it was reconstructed “but then after that, we did find that more people were willing to travel that road and the business picked up afterward.”

He added that during the detailed design, it could be looked at to push the work to one of the shoulder seasons of construction season “and that might help make sure you can maximize your retail opportunities… I’ll leave that to the experts,” he noted, nodding to County staff attending the announcement.

Previously council had applied for $2.7 million to rehabilitate 2.2km of Bloomfield Main. In 2019,   councillors voted 7-5 to make the application following discussion that the $324,400 (10 per cent the County would have to pay) would be better spent elsewhere.

“Our discussions of roads and bridges last month was quite sobering,” said Mayor Steve Ferguson, at Friday morning’s announcement. “You need to be spending millions each year on roads alone to bring them up to standard.

“As we plan for the future of our municipal assets, significant investments are needed to address the improvement needs of our roads and bridges,” he said. “The government of Ontario’s support for infrastructure renewal through the Connecting Links program, and others, is critical for reducing the financial impact on the property taxpayers of Prince Edward County.”

Discussions begin on managing County assets – starting with roads