Rural councillors don’t like going cap in hand to the Alberta government every year looking for money to repair road, bridges and other infrastructure projects.
They say stable funding would solve the problem.
“We need to know the money from the provincial or federal governments is going to be consistent so we can make plans,” said Al Kemmere, president of the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties.
The provincial government has not funded the Resource Road program and the Local Road Bridge program for the past two years.
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It had previously paid $31 million a year for the resource road program and $26 million to bridge funding.
Lethbridge County reeve Lorne Hickey introduced a resolution to bring back the funding, but he wonders if bridge and road funding will ever get back on the table now that the price of oil down to $75 a barrel.
“When oil was $112 a barrel, it was cut because the province said it couldn’t afford it. Now it’s at $75 a barrel. How will we ever get it back,” said Hickey.
“We were told at $75 a barrel, don’t expect an awful lot.”
Provincial politicians at the annual convention were not making many promises, he added.
“$75 oil is a very significant reality in this province,” Alberta premier Jim Prentice told reporters during the convention.
“It is for every Albertan. It is for government. It is something we all need to watch and be prudent and cautious about. For every dollar the prices of oil drops per barrel, the government loses $200 million of revenue.… We’re very focused on the current fiscal year we are in. We will balance the budget as promised and then have important decision we have to make for 2015-16, and we’ll do that.”
Hickey said Alberta’s rural municipalities are responsible for building and maintaining 8,500 bridges and want a funding arrangement that will help them plan for repairs and replacements.
One of the 167 bridges that cross irrigation canals in Lethbridge County cost $260,000 to replace two years ago. The bridges now cost $600,000, and each must be engineered individually.
New rules that would allow for culverts or simpler bridges instead of traditional bridges would help municipalities reduce costs and keep the roads open.
“Do we close the roads? That would be unpopular,” said Hickey.
“It’s a huge issue.”
Kemmere said maintaining rural roads and bridges has become a significant issue for rural councillors, but it’s an important issue for farmers hauling grain and livestock and companies hauling oil, gas and lumber.
“It’s important counties and municipalities maintain the roads and bridges to allow grain and oil and gas resources to get to market,” he said. “We need to be able to get these things down the road.”
Kemmere said some municipalities may have to start placing load restrictions on roads without funding for repairs.
He said he knows the province is dealing with low oil prices, but stable funding is an important issue for rural municipalities.
“There were no promises, but they sure did acknowledge the issue.”
