Chatham-Kent is facing a $2.36 billion shortfall over the next decade to maintain and repair its aging roads and bridges, according to a new report headed to council.
General Manager of Infrastructure and Engineering Services Edward Soldo is recommending that council call on the provincial government to create a sustainable and predictable funding model to help municipalities maintain critical infrastructure.
He is also urging council to send a letter to the Premier, Minister of Infrastructure, and Minister of Transportation asking them to remove the annual $10 million cap Chatham-Kent faces under the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund (OCIF).
OCIF provides funding for roads, bridges, and water systems in small and mid-sized municipalities. While Chatham-Kent qualifies for more under the funding formula, its allotment is capped at $10 million per year. Municipal staff say this limit prevents the municipality from keeping pace with costly repairs—especially for infrastructure downloaded from the province.
At the April 28 council meeting, Councillor Ryan Doyle requested a report identifying which provincial highways were transferred to Chatham-Kent in 1998, along with projected maintenance and capital costs over the next ten years.
That report shows the province offloaded 232 kilometres of roadways, 56 bridges, and over 2,000 culverts to the municipality with just $11 million in one-time funding to support an estimated $354 million worth of infrastructure. According to staff, that funding only covered about three years of capital repairs.
“These roads were built to provincial highway standards and are expected to accommodate higher truck volumes and traffic speeds,” the report notes, adding that design and rehabilitation costs are significantly higher than standard municipal roads.
Soldo is proposing a financial advocacy plan that would highlight the long-term burden Chatham-Kent is facing, given its limited tax base and disproportionate infrastructure responsibilities. Administration hopes the plan would back efforts to push both the province and Ottawa for more support alongside groups like the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) and the Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA), who have been advocating for a better funding partnership between municipalities and the province.
