WRAPPING IT UP
CBRM finishes busy construction season.
The Cape Breton Regional Municipality spent more than $21 million on roadwork and underground infrastructure over the past year making 2017 its busiest ever construction season.
A CBRM news release stated that the municipality’s water systems underwent $12 million in improvements that included rehabilitation work on 11 km of water main pipes.
Other major infrastructure expenditures included $3.8 million on local roads capital investment, $2.6 million on five collector road projects and $1,175 million on general road repairs. An additional $1 million was spent on arterial roadwork that was cost-shared with the federal and provincial governments.
An ongoing manhole replacement project that costs another $1 million is 70 per cent complete, while $2 million in stormwater separation work and $1 million in lift station replacements will continue into 2018. The improvements to existing water, sewer and stormwater infrastructure are cost-shared with the federal government footing 50 per cent of the bill through its Clean Water and Wastewater Fund, while the province and the CBRM each putting up 25 per cent of the cost.
Mayor Cecil Clarke said the work, carried out by both CBRM workers employees and private
contractors, is indicative of the measures being taken to improve infrastructure in the municipality.
“These significant projects have led to hundreds of improvements across the Cape Breton Regional Municipality,” Clarke said in written press release. “I thank our employee and local contractors for their hard work on a successful construction season.”
According to the CBRM, the $21 million spent on construction in 2017 is the largest oneyear investment in road and underground infrastructure in the 22 years since the municipality was established with the
amalgamation of the city of Sydney and the surrounding towns and communities within the former Cape Breton County.