Tyendinaga council votes on million dollar infrastructure changes

Councillors at Tyendinaga Township vote on Tuesday night’s meeting to apply for the provinces OCIF funding. Photo by Charlotte McParland, QNet News

By Charlotte McParland 

TYENDINAGA – With only five members of the public in attendance, Tyendinaga council spent Tuesday night trying to decide how to spend a million dollars worth of infrastructure funding it plans to apply for.

Council’s major discussion of the evening was spent attempting make a decision on the township’s main infrastructure issues.

Deputy Reeve Adam Hannifin discussed the two problem bridges in the area– Baldrick’s Bridge in Marysville and Taylor’s Bridge on Shannonville Road, both in high traffic areas of the district.

Shannonville Road itself was also discussed because of the road’s poor condition and high volume of traffic.

“It’s (Taylor’s Bridge) is in worse condition, it’s got a crack in it, and the one in Marysville..it looks bad, but works good, it’s just more appearance,” said Hannifin.

“Baldrick’s Bridge is also very bad, but vehicle-wise it doesn’t have the number of vehicles on it that might suggest for funding,” Hannifin continued.

He said it will take up to five years to replace Taylor’s Bridge on Shannonville Rd.

“I think it’s a great idea putting a structure up there cause it’s a safety issue. There’s cracks in the walls, it’s deteriorating,” agreed Reeve Rick Phillips.

“We’re already at the point where our own plows can’t go over it…they both have to be done,” said Hannifin.

Discussion about the two bridges were also tied to improving the roads leading to them.

Phillips asked, “can we do Shannonville Road as a temporary five to six year fix? But, can Taylor’s Bridge last that long? That’s what I’m asking.”

But doubts of the bridge lasting through the next couple of winters was one of the councillors main concerns in deciding how much money to spend on each of the bridges, and not voting to apply for money for the roads.

“Now instead of a road, we’ve got two bridges that need work, and then it comes down to which bridge is the most important. We really should try to be optimistic and get funding for one,” said Phillips.

“We can spend $100,000 on Baldrick’s Bridge, that might get it back to where it needs to be, then maybe go for Taylor’s bridge for a million dollars” said the reeve.

With the short deadline of Oct. 21 to apply for the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund, councillors voted unanimously and opted to apply for 90 per cent of the $1 million dollars for the new bridge reconstruction of Taylor’s Bridge on Shannonville Road.

OCIF is a provincial fund, as it was stated that there was no federal fund yet available to the township.

Other areas that were noted in the meeting were when councillors announced that Deseronto Road will continue to be closed at the CN tracks as construction continues for the next couple of weeks.