The City of Trail continues to move forward on creating a second access to the Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital. This week City staff recommended issuing the contract for consulting services to TRUE Consulting. It was one of two proposals received.

Their quote came in at $230,000 – the City’s pre-established capital budget is $250,000. The City notes that additional design costs may arise during the road alignment evaluation process and funding will need to be determined as these costs arise. The other proposal received was from Austin Engineering with a quote of $234,400. Both companies are local to Trail.

The proposals were evaluated on nine different criteria and TRUE Consulting had an average evaluation ranking of 88.7, compared to Austin Engineering’s 67.0. Some of the criteria includes project understanding, team work plan, quality of proposal, firm commitment, and key personnel experience.

Mayor Lisa Pasin says TRUE Consulting’s job entails designing and developing a construction budget for the second access road. A traffic study would also be included to find the preferred route. The road would then have to be designed to meet municipal standards with sidewalks, streetlights, and drainage. Mayor Pasin says that also includes the provision of another waterline to the hospital.

The mayor and CAO David Perehudoff recently met with Interior Health officials who are very supportive of the project. Two local staff members from Interior Health have also been identified to work with the City as required. Mayor Pasin adds IH will be consulted throughout the design process as part of ensuring that the final plan maximizes the benefits to the regional hospital.

It’s hoped that parking can be improved through the project as well.