Province takes on funding to fix County Road 49

Members of provincial parliament, Prince Edward County staff and council at the Prince Edward County Roads Department Thursday morning for the announcement of provincial funding for the rehabilitation of County Road 49. – Sharon Harrison photo

By Sharon Harrison
County Road 49 is going to be fixed, the provincial government will pay for it, and work is to begin imminently.

That was the long-awaited good news that came Thursday morning from a formal announcement by Hastings–Lennox and Addington MPP Ric Bresee who is the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Transportation Prabmeet Sarkaria.

“Our government is investing $45 million to rehabilitate County Road 49 between Picton and the Bay of Quinte Skyway Bridge,” said Bresee. “This funding will support the repair and upgrade of 18.4 kilometres of road which, as most of us know, the Canadian Automobile Association has identified as one of the worst roads in Ontario…I am very happy to see this day come to fruition.”

The project is expected to include re-paving the road surface, new culverts and guardrail improvements.

“I am so excited to be here for this announcement today to let everyone know in Prince Edward County that we are getting it done,” said Tyler Allsopp, Bay of Quinte MPP.

Mayor Steve Ferguson and many County council members were in attendance for the announcement made at the Prince Edward Roads Department on Picton’s Lake Street, along with members of County staff, including Chief Administrative Officer Adam Goheen, and representation from the Ministry of Transportation.

As for timing for the construction, Ferguson said with all studies and engineering done, the municipality is ready to issue the tenders.

“It is anticipated that all things being equal, construction will begin this year, tenders will be issued this year, and work will be completed next year, so two construction seasons,” he said.

County Road 49 repeatedly ranked in the CAA’s annual ‘Worst Roads in Ontario’ campaign .

And with one question arising about what will happen to all that cement, and would it be taken up, Ferguson replied, as follows:

“It is basically “chipping” the concrete in place and then ultimately paving over, and what that involves is special technology that has to be brought in, but it also eliminates problems with the environmental concerns of moving all that chipped stuff off-site,” Ferguson explained, “so it remains in place and paved over, and it becomes just like a magic carpet ride in the County.”

The $45 million, in addition to the almost $7.8 million in reserve by the County, covers the estimated $52 million cost.

Bresee with Ferguson and Allsopp at the announcement. – Sharon Harrison photo

“In the months that have passed since, it became increasingly clear that the goal and partnership between the municipality, the province and the federal government would not be realized,” said Allsopp. “Considering this, and with the knowledge that County Road 49 was a critical piece of infrastructure for this community, we knew we had to move forward and make the dream of a new road a reality.”

Speaking to the failed tri-lateral agreement, Ferguson spoke to how the municipality got to this point over many years, and with the involvement of many people and organizations.

“Chris [Malette, Bay of Quinte MP] has done a wonderful job at advocating on behalf of Prince Edward County to get funding from the federal government, and unfortunately that has not worked out,” shared Ferguson. “But I certainly want to commend him for the work he undertook to get this brought to the attention of various ministers at the federal level.”

Ferguson said the work that has got them to this point has gone on for decades.

‘During my time as an elected official, which began in 2014, Robert Quaiff [former County mayor] was a champion to get this done, Bill Roberts [County councillor] was an early advocator for it,” he said. “Since then, we have had other groups come forward to help support the urgent need for this to get done, and there was a lot of help to get us to this point, and I want to express appreciation to all the groups involved, all the individuals who were involved, to make this day happen.”

Allsopp highlighted how County Road 49 has been a point of contention for the community since 1998, where it was also noted that of its 18.4 kilometre length, 17.3 kilometres is concrete pavement.

“It has been ranked among the worst roads in Canada by CAA eight times, and as the years go by, due to spalding and cracking of the cement, its condition continues to worse,” he stated.

“Not only is it the eastern gateway to Prince Edward County, and a key route for incoming tourists, it is also the road on which the new hospital is located, the new and innovative long-term care home, and has the potential to help unlock thousands of housing units right when and where we need them the most.”

“It’s going to take time to get the work done, but we are ready to issue the tenders; all the research, the engineering has all been done, so we are ready to go. There is a lot of relief,” concluded Ferguson.