Guelph Politico: Deadline Extended on Guelph Remastered

Friday, December 3, 2010

Deadline Extended on Guelph Remastered

Depending on where you sit, the idea that the City of Guelph will have a whole other construction season through which it can finish infrastructure projects is either pleasant news or painful. I, naturally, side on the side of pleasant because work on the Transit Hub amounts to more or less destroying the corner of Wyndham and Carden at the moment. Here's the City's Press Release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

GUELPH, ON, December 3, 2010 – Yesterday, the Government of Canada announced that it would extend the deadline for projects being funded by Infrastructure Stimulus Funds and Recreational Infrastructure funds to October 31, 2011.

The City of Guelph is investing $23.5 million and was awarded up to $44.4 million in federal and provincial Infrastructure Stimulus funds, and $3.6 million in recreational infrastructure funding to complete over 25 projects on buildings, roads, sewers and water systems as part of Guelph Remastered.

Under the terms of the original funding agreements, all projects were to be complete by March 31, 2011.

"This extension is great news for Guelph," says Rick Henry, City Engineer. "Both the inter-modal transit terminal and the CN Rail bridge replacement projects were facing some complications, and this extension will give us the time we need to resolve those issues and proceed accordingly."

Earlier this fall, the City contacted the Government of Canada in the hopes of obtaining an extension to the funding deadline for the inter-modal transit terminal and CN rail bridge replacement projects. The extension is most welcome as the City co-ordinates agreements between GO Transit, Greyhound Coach Lines, VIA Rail, Rail America, and Goderich Exeter Railway.

All other projects are on schedule to be complete by the end of March but some finishing work may be completed in the spring so the City can take advantage of warmer weather.

"Everyone will be glad to hear that our road reconstruction projects are wrapping up and roads will be paved and open for the winter," adds Henry. "Work will continue on the transit terminal and the CN Rail bridge replacement throughout the winter, but the work won’t be as disruptive as it has been this summer."

The new October 31 deadline of applies to projects already approved for Federal or Provincial Infrastructure Stimulus funding that have incurred eligible costs before March 31, 2011.