The Town of Erin has been rejected in another bid to get funds for a permanent rebuild of the station road bridge structure, and Wellington-Halton Hills MPP Ted Arnott wants to know why.
On Dec. 9, Jennifer Bousfield, program operations manager for Small, Rural and Northern Municipal Infrastructure Fund (SRNMIF) Capital Program, wrote to Erin roads superintendent Larry Van Wyck.
In the letter, Bousfield stated “Unfortunately, your project proposal has not been selected to move forward to the application phase of the SRNMIF Capital Program.”
Bousfield explained that nearly 350 expressions of interest for funding were recieved, but that the Erin document did not pass the pre-screening process “because other applicants with highly critical projects had more challenging economic conditions (as measured by property assessments and incomes).”
Arnott did not feel that explanation was sufficient.
In a letter sent by Arnott to Jeff Leal, Minister of Rural Affairs, Arnott noted his own efforts to help the town make the application happen.
“As you know, I want to do everything I can to support the municipalities in Wellington-Halton Hills.”
“Today, it was brought to my attention that the Town of Erin’s expression of interest under the SRNMIF to complete the Station Road Rehabilitation has been rejected by your government. Their completed expression of interest and your ministry’s disappointing response are attached.”
Arnott stated “Your ministry’s decision is completely unsatisfactory. The completion of the Station Road Rehabilitation is an urgent project due to significant safety concerns.”
Arnott explained that Station Road is located on top of an earthen berm which creates a dam.
The stretch of road includes a bridge (within a portion of the dam) which traverses the Upper Credit River.
“There are significant structural concerns with the dam and a hazard assessment identified a high hazard potential should the dam collapse,” Arnott wrote.
He added the bridge is location next to the Hillsburgh Fire Department Station.
A previous bridge closure resulted in a delayed response for a medical emergency.
“No one wants this to happen again,” Arnott said.
He added that the Station Road Bridge was been identified by the Credit Valley Conservation Authority as a safety concern and by the Ministry of Natural Resources as an item the Town of Erin must deal with by June 2014.
Arnott said town staff are not certain how this project can proceed without financial assistance from the provincial government.
“We require a detailed explanation as to why our expression of interest was rejected.”
Arnott also urged the ministry to “take another look at this important project and contact the Town of Erin to see what can be done to move this project forward, with the financial support of the provincial government.”
