Cambridge council could sink almost $1.4M more into Blackbridge Road project
Cambridge city council is plowing ahead with work on Blackbridge Road, including buying a property for as much as $1.4 million.
In a unanimous vote Tuesday, council approved a city staff recommendation to buy a property at 4910 Townline Rd. to accommodate the reworking of the Blackbridge Road area.
The purchase price, according to the city staff report, is not to exceed $1.25 million. If expropriation is necessary, the price will not exceed $1.38 million, which includes taxes, ancillary costs and compensation for the owner under the Expropriation Act.
Coun. Donna Reid said talk about saving the Blackbridge Road bridge and finding a way to allow two-way traffic in that area has been a hotbutton topic since she joined council in 2010.
“It’s well past the time in which we need to get this done,” Reid said.
“If we need to expropriate this land, then that’s what we need to do, but hopefully we can buy it.”
The city wants to buy the land and remove the existing house to accommodate a new road alignment.
The entire Blackbridge Road area project includes: constructing a new two-lane bridge over the Speed River for traffic on Blackbridge Road; converting the existing onelane bridge to become part of a multi-use path; building a multi-use path, including canoe launch and cycling amenities; and reconstructing a portion of Townline Road, Blackbridge Road and the intersection of Townline Road, Blackbridge Road and Roszell Road.
According to a city report, property acquisition for the project began in late 2019 and 4910 Townline Rd. was the lone remaining property, owned by private landowners, to be acquired. The closing date is June 20.
The authorization to buy the property came not long after council approved the lone tender bid of $178,540 from Mississauga’s Marbridge Construction Ltd. for emergency repairs on the historic bridge.
The bridge has needed repairs since Nov. 4, 2021, when a semitractor trailer, which exceeded the load and weight restrictions for the structure, got stuck in the west side of the bridge.
With a budget of $130,000, council decided to allow another $55,781 to be put toward the repairs through the consent agenda.