The 74-year-old College Street underpass, which ducks under three sets of Canadian Pacific Railway tracks, should be the federal government’s responsibility.
Mayor Paul Lefebvre made this argument during a budget meeting earlier this week, at which he tabled a successful budget amendment to pause funding the $25-million project.
“This is really ridiculous that we need to be paying more than $25 million, and borrowing those funds to make this happen,” he said, noting the railway tracks don’t serve the municipality.
“I want to pull and wait to do this investment as we have conversations with CP and the federal government, because I believe the federal government should come to the table in funding part of this massive infrastructure ... that is basically more federal than anything else.
“I don’t believe that we should be paying this amount of money for a rail going through our town that doesn’t do anything for economic activity for us.”
The city’s proposed budget would have them borrow $25 million to rehabilitate the underpass, at an assumed interest rate of 5.1 per cent paid over 30 years. By the end of the 30-year term, the city would have paid approximately $49 million in principal and interest.
The underpass, also called the “CPR Subway,” is a two-pad concrete bridge built in 1949 to accommodate three lanes of traffic crossing under the tracks. There’s a sidewalk on the west side of the structure and no other active transportation facilities.
The aging infrastructure was featured in a scene in the zombie movie Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City.
“Given the age and condition of the structure, the low vertical profile and the lack of active transportation facilities, the structure needs to be replaced, or at a minimum rehabilitated,” according to the city’s Over To You public consultation page.
Lefebvre’s successful amendment will see to it that funding for the College Street underpass be put on pause, “pending a new or updated report to be presented for council’s consideration in 2024 and that the money allocated for this project be held in reserves pending council’s further direction.”
Preparing the report, Lefebvre said, will include further conversations with other levels of government “to address this massive infrastructure obligation.”
The College Street underpass project accompanies the city’s proposed extension of Ste. Anne Road to Frood Road to alleviate traffic pressures in the area.
The College Street underpass isn’t the only project for which the city is advocating for senior levels of government to step up. It’s city policy for staff to pursue funding opportunities whenever applicable, though a few projects currently stick out.
The Valley East Twin Pad Multipurpose Sports Complex was approved during 2022 budget deliberations, but has not proceeded due to the requirement that $20 million from senior levels of government be baked into its budget, which has not come.
Earlier this week, city council voted down a budget amendment to continue funding The Spot, the city’s supervised consumption site, due to it falling under provincial jurisdiction. The city had been funding the site on a temporary basis, but the province has not stepped forward. As such, it’s slated to close by the end of January.
Although the operational costs of the city’s 40-unit transitional housing complex (expected to open next year) are also under provincial jurisdiction, the city’s budget allocates $3.2 million during the next four years to operate the facility.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
