Amended agreement extends deadline for County Road 49 as bids to find funding continue

Council Tuesday night, approved a bylaw to amend the provincial government’s transfer payment agreement for $19,993,424 toward the rehabilitation of County Road 49 – which allows an additional construction season while the search for funding continues.

A staff request, in August, for an extension of the project completion deadline to Dec. 31, 2028 (beyond originally approved provincial fiscal deadline of March 31, 2028) was approved by the Ministry of Infrastructure on Dec. 17.

A requirement of the provincial funding is that the majority of construction contracts must be awarded by Sept. 30, 2026, only allowing one full construction season between then and the original project completion deadline of March 31.

The amending agreement extends the project completion deadline from March 31, 2028 to Dec. 31, 2028 and the expiry date from March 31, 2029 to Dec. 31, 2029, allowing an additional full construction season for the project.

The provincial portion, plus the $7.8 million municipal portion approved in the 2024 budget, left an unfunded $24.5 million the municipal hoped would be funded by the federal government.

The total cost to rehabilitate County Road 49, including the urban portion, also known as phase 3 reconstruction of Picton Main Street, is $52.3 million. This total includes a 25 per cent contingency ($10.4 million) that the province required the municipality to include when it applied to the Housing-Enabling Core Servicing Fund.

The province’s nearly $20 million was announced in January 2025 and was expected to help leverage additional funding sources.

The provincial funds were gained through application to the Housing-Enabling Core Services Fund which was key in the application to link County Road 49 (including the final phase of Picton Main Street which represents the urban section) to enable over 2,000 housing units on the east side of Picton over the next 10 to 15 years.

In December, council received a letter from Steven MacKinnon, Minister of Transport, in which he thanked the Mayor for his letter in September emphasizing support needed for County Road 49.

MacKinnon stated “that with a few exceptions, responsibilities for highway and road planning, construction, operation, maintenance, and financing fall under provincial and territorial jurisdiction” and added “Currently, Transport Canada does not have an open call for proposals that could help fund the County Road 49 rehabilitation project. That said, I invite you to visit our website for updates on upcoming funding opportunities.”

He did, however, recommend watching for the application process (in the coming weeks) for the 2025 federal budget’s $5 billion Trade Diversification Corridors Fund, “which will build new trade infrastructure connecting Canada – including ports, railways, airports, highways and other infrastructure that facilitates trade and logistics.

Speculation is the new Parrish & Heimbecker grain facility at Picton Terminals could make a connection for these funds as the new bulk agricultural terminal on Picton Bay would support farmers in the shipment of crops – as early as the 2026 harvest season.

County Road 49 has severe joint and slab failures, cracking, and polishing of the surface. The average weekly cost of patch repairs, including material, equipment, vehicles and staffing was last noted as being approximately $1,360 weekly or $70,720 annually.

Opened in 1966, County Road 49 spans 18.4 kilometres, of which 17.3 kilometres is concrete pavement. The road connects Picton, the municipality’s largest settlement area, with the Bay of Quinte Skyway Bridge, one of the largest entry-points into the municipality from Highway 401. The Province of Ontario downloaded the roadway to the County in 1998. County Road 49 has reached the end of its natural lifespan. It consistently ranks as one of the worst roads in Ontario by CAA.