The province has cut St. Albert a cheque for the last of the money it owes the city for the second stage of Ray Gibbon Drive, just as the tender for the final stage was awarded.
The city announced in a news release Thursday that the Alberta government has handed the city $1.22 million for the last of its portion for Ray Gibbon Drive’s extension to Giroux Road. The fund transfer is part of the agreement the city and province came to before construction of the road began, in which the province reimburses the city for any costs associated with upgrading the arterial road to a highway standard. St. Albert pays the arterial road costs.
“We pay what it would cost us to build a Boudreau Road or a McKenney Avenue,” Guy Boston, general manager of planning and engineering said. “There are still costs to the city.”
To date stages one and two of Ray Gibbon Drive have come to a total cost of $45.8 million, of which the province has now paid $19.55 million and the city $26.25 million. Half of the city’s costs are collected back through offsite levies paid by developers at a rate of 50 per cent for the first two lanes.
“The reality is the province has been really good about meeting that commitment,” said deputy mayor Wes Brodhead. “We’re excited about moving forward with stage three.”
Stage three will extend Ray Gibbon Drive to Villeneuve Road and is expected to cost approximately $34.2 million — roughly $17 million each for land acquisition and construction. The city will fund $15.89 million of the construction costs through commercial borrowing with the province paying back approximately $18.1 million of the total cost.
Boston announced at Monday’s council meeting that two important tenders relating to Ray Gibbon Drive have been awarded — Standard General has won both the tender to build stage three and the contract to connect the new terminus of 137 Avenue/LeClair Way. Boston said both winning tenders came in under the proposed cost the city put forward.
“The prepatory work is being done now,” Boston said. “They’re removing buildings along the right of way and the trees and I imagine they will mobilize when the contract becomes official and it becomes more spring-like.”
Construction is expected to begin in April for both Ray Gibbon Drive, stage three and the 137 Avenue/LeClair Way connection. Both are expected to be completed by the fall.
But perhaps most significantly, the awarding of the contract for stage three represents the beginning of the end of approximately 30 years of false starts, scrubbed plans and debates over Ray Gibbon Drive, known over the years by many different names such as the west bypass and the west regional road. Neither Boston nor Brodhead were aware of the historical aspect.
“Wow,” Boston said. “I thought it was pretty spectacular when we were pounding piles for the bridge [for stage one].”
