Province should pay
Coun. Hann says province should foot the bill for ancillary infrastructure around Team Gushue Highway
The City of St. John’s shouldn’t have to fork out $350,000 for a highway the province is building through the city, says Coun. Tom Hann.
Hann has learned that the city is expected to pay $350,000 for ancillary infrastructure like sidewalks and landscaping that will be necessary after the construction of the Team Gushue Highway. Most of that work will be in the Blackmarsh Road area.
He said while it may help traffic flow within the city, most vehicles on the highway will come from outside the city. That led him to question why the city is footing the bill for things like moving trees and putting sidewalks back in place. The city will also have to build a small roundabout to connect traffic from Blackmarsh Road onto the highway.
“I can understand us hooking up there to the Team Gushue Highway. What I don’t understand is why the province doesn’t do the ancillary work that’s needed. Instead, they’re coming to us and saying, ‘you gotta do it.’”
“The answer is the province doesn’t do ancillary infrastructure. Well, if they’re coming through the city and creating a need for ancillary infrastruc- ture, my contention is that they should pay for it.”
Hann said he doesn’t know what, if anything, can be done about it at this point.
“The work has to be done. We’re going to have to do it. You can’t just not landscape it and put the sidewalks back.”
He worries about what that might mean for other issues surrounding the highway. For example, some residents in Cowan Heights are asking for sound barriers.
“Once you set a precedent, there’s always something down the road,” he said.
It’s not the first time
The highway extension, which began in 2011-12, was originally scheduled to be complete in 2014. Now, the province says it will be finished sometime in 2017. In December, the project was 63 per cent complete.
Well, if they’re coming through the city and creating a need for ancillary infrastructure, my contention is that they should pay for it. St. John’s Coun. Tom Hann