It could be a couple more years before the municipality is able to begin the physical work of rehabilitating a section of Talbot Trail.
With an increase in shoreline erosion since the initial request for proposals to fix up the area, a new environmental assessment will have to be done on creating a bypass or moving the road.
Chatham-Kent’s Director of Engineering Chris Thibert says the original completion date was scheduled for next February, but with an extended scope, the EA likely won’t be done until late summer or early fall.
“The recommendations that are going to come out of this EA, it is going towards moving the road back or looking at an alternate location for Talbot Trail, that will be presented to council by the fall of 2021 and then of course included in the capital plan for 2022,” Thibert says. “If council were to direct administration and direct any funds to go towards that project, then we would start into that with a detailed design in 2022, which would then lead to construction at the earliest in 2023.”
Thomas Kelly, General Manager of Infrastructure and Engineering says subject to funding and council approval, it could be at least 2023 before the work is done.
“Funding is going to be a huge challenge, that whole area along Lake Erie, not only this section but also Erie Shore Drive and rose Beach Line,” Kelly says. “If you look at just the initial analysis that was done on those areas, we looked at over $200-million. I think the answer to he residents is not only the timing of the engineering solution but also the timing of the funding to make this happen.”
Changing the scope will come with a cost, as the environment assessment was originally valued at just over $200,000. The new amended tender cost of the EA was approved—with BT Engineering Inc. having the successful bid at a price tag of $421,038.
