This coverage is from Terrace Standard and the original article can be found here.
Plans for more paving last year didn’t work out but the projects are back on the books for this year, shows a lengthy briefing note prepared for Terrace council members.
The hope last year was to use $975,000 from the $34.5 million the city is getting from the provincial government through the Northwest B.C. Resource Benefits Alliance to boost the city’s asphalt overlay capability in 2024 to $1.175 million.
But a combination of bad weather and timing shelved the prospect, said city communications officer Sarah Artis.
“When projects are scheduled in our capital plan it is known that not all will start in January and will be complete by December,” she said. “Our budget cycle runs for a calendar year but our construction timelines on projects do not always match that, with some projects taking place over multiple years.”
While a portion of Greig Ave. near the intersection of Greig and Emerson was rebuilt, heavy rains in September and October postponed other work.
This year, however, public works officials have scheduled the repaving of Emerson St. from Park Ave. to Lakelse and the travelled lanes of Kalum Street from the Skeenaview hill to Davis Ave.
The projects last year were regarded by council members as a feel good result of the millions the city is getting through the benefits alliance.
In all, $5.5 million of a planned 2024 capital works and projects program worth $16 million has been shifted to this year. The vast majority of the nearly 70 projects are being paid for by grants of various kinds.
The list includes line painting, paving and signs to finish off the Xpilaxha Charles and Emma Nelson Trail (formerly the Grand Trunk Pathway) to the Kalum River Bridge at a cost of $55,831 and fully completing the Eby St staircase from Horseshoe to the Bench at a cost of $286,206..
There’s to be a lane reconfiguration from Kalum to Park worth $234,242 and sidewalk resurfacing to cost $157,084. The plan for the latter sum is to resurface and widen the sidewalk so that it is a multi-use pathway along Sparks Street from the Skeenaview hill north to Halliwell on the bench.
Sportsplex ice sheet users will notice a new ice resurfacer costing $209,925 while making ice is resulting in spending $1.11 million on a refrigeration plant. Of this amount, $777,712 is coming from a provincial grant while $332,287 is coming from the Kitimat-Stikine regional district.
Last year the city took on child care as responsibility by converting a meeting room in the Sportsplex and this year it will continue renovations a a cost of $176,283.
Riprap repairs to stop erosion will cost $335,000 and nearly the same amount of money, $366,766, is to be spent on the 4800 Block of Park Ave. reconstruction. The latter is a continuing project partially in conjunction with the construction of the Terrace District Community Services Society’s multi-story seniors rental and youth health clinic building on the corner of Eby and Park.
The city continues to edge toward a rebuild and reconfiguration of Lanfear Hill by spending $243,261 on a detailed design. A preliminary concept calls for a multi-use pathway to be built on the uphill side of the road, replacing the current narrow walkway on the downhill side of the road.
The city is also moving forward on its multi-million dollar plan for a below ground and above rebuild and rehabilitation of the 4600 Block of Lakelse Ave. by spending $135,000 on a detailed design.
Although $5.5 million of last year’s capital works and project spending was pushed to this year, engineering and public works department director Ben Reinbolt said it is now in a much better position as vacancies have been filled.
“The department’s capital list has grown significantly in recent years due to a combination of increased capital funds combined with a backlog of past year initiatives that grew during the time of staffing shortages in 2022 and 2023,” he wrote in a memo to council.
To further improve the department’s efficiency, Reinbolt is making a pitch to hire a project coordinator beginning in 2026 to handle projects being undertaken through the regional benefits alliance grant.
Thanks to the alliance grant, as of 2024, the city is getting $6.889 a million for five years. It is part of the $250 million the province is providing to the 21 local governments of the alliance.
