Some Castlegar city councillors are unhappy with how long it has taken to sign a new paving contract, but staff say it will be worth it in the long run.
This week council awarded a $250,000 contract to Terus Construction for patching and paving work, with high-volume areas to be prioritized, including Columbia Avenue.
Councillor Brian Bogle said he was disappointed it took until mid-August to finalize the agreement. He fears they will now get a late start and miss the window to do much of the work this year.
“It has been a No. 1 priority that we hear from the public and we put this in the budget,” he said. “I can already hear the comments from people that have been complaining to me about the condition of the roads. It’s going to be next year that they’ll see the results. That’s frustrating.”
Other councillors agreed. “I get approached by people, and all I can say is ‘I’m sorry I’ve disappointed you,'” councillor Shirley Falstead said.
Engineering manager Ryan Niddery explained it took until now to complete the deal because it’s part of the city’s new approach to paving. Typically they have gone to tender with a certain section of road in mind. This time, it’s a larger, more general contract, which took longer to set up. But they still expect the work to be completed this year.
Mayor Maria McFaddin agreed the late start was unfortunate, but said now that the new process is in place, they should be able to get a quicker jump on paving in years to come.
“Sometimes when you change process it takes longer, but it will set you up better for the future,” she said. “Now we have a robust way of getting paving done quicker and more efficiently.”
City manager Chris Barlow said he appreciated council’s frustrations, but asked them to withhold judgement until the end of the year. “We budgeted and committed to delivering this paving money in 2025,” he said. “We’re confident we can do that. If we don’t, we’ll definitely have that conversation.”
Barlow added that the new contract has greater flexibility for treatment of roads. Traditionally the city mills and fills streets each year, at a high cost. Other types of treatments can get a road to its best condition, he said, and they will work with the contractor to choose the best one in each case.
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