Long road

Province steps up with bulk of funding to rebuild 49

The situation appeared hopeless. After decades of lobbying, begging and pleading, it was becoming clear that no provincial or federal money was coming for County Road 49. The cost of maintaining the 18 kilometres between Picton and the Skyway Bridge was escalating each season. The road, downloaded onto the municipality in 1998, was always unmanageable by this small, rural community. Every few years, a fresh estimate was commissioned in earnest, then quietly put on a shelf when no funding materialized.

Former mayor Robert Quaiff kept a chunk of the decaying concrete roadway in his office during his term—a symbol of provincial downloading gone wrong. He would haul it out for visiting officials or anyone with a camera. He would explain that the property taxpayers of Prince Edward County couldn’t afford to rehabilitate the roadway—removing the concrete and putting down new pavement.

Over the decades, the cost to do so had risen from about $20 million to the latest estimate of $52 million. The County didn’t have the money in 2006, and it doesn’t have it in 2026. Quaiff’s concrete boulder was an emblem of desperation— of abandonment. The road was failing badly, but there was nothing to be done.

Then, early last year, the province agreed to put up $20 million toward the cost of rebuilding the former provincial highway. Council set aside $7.8 million, anticipating that the federal government— fresh off a big win last spring—would step up and help Prince Edward County with its crumbling roadway.

Crickets.

Last week, the province—represented by MPP Tyler Alsopp and Parliamentary Assistant Ric Bresee— came to Picton to announce that it was upping its contribution to $45 million. Along with the County’s portion, it was enough to dream that 49 will finally be rebuilt.

It was a long time coming. Every year, the County would send a delegation of council members and officials (on municipal expense accounts) to road conferences to plead for help. Every year, they came home empty.

So what changed?

It is certainly plausible that two decades of lobbying had accumulated in the consciousness of Queen’s Park. The development of a grain transport facility at Picton Terminals was mentioned by provincial officials as a factor. So, too, were the new hospital and the County’s tourism economy.

Some mention must also be made of a small group of council members who, when the prospects looked bleakest, tried something different. The County Road 49 Working Group was formed in the spring of 2023 to explore alternative means to fund the expensive roadwork. Councillor Chris Braney, along with councillors Brad Nieman, Phil St-Jean, David Harrison and Mayor Steve Ferguson.

The Working Group turned up the heat when all previous efforts were flagging.
Councillor Braney emphasized County Road 49’s role as a vital link to the agricultural and commercial health of Prince Edward County.

The Working Group is on a mission to get this road fixed,” said Braney at a media event that May. “Patching it will no longer cut it. County Road 49 needs to be fixed, and we’re not going to take ‘no’ for an answer.”

It would take another 18 months, but in January 2025, the province eventually stepped up with $20 million. There was confidence that the federal government might match the province’s contribution.

Months passed, but no offer of help was forthcoming from Ottawa. This, even though the region had elected a Liberal, Chris Malette, in favour of Conservative Ryan Williams.

THE ANNOUNCEMENT

So it was last week that all of Council, save two (Janice Maynard and Phil Prinzen were absent), along with municipal leadership, engineering, and roads folks, gathered with MPP Tyler Alsopp and the MPP for Hastings-Lennox and Addington at the Lake Street garage in Picton. The air, ripe with notes of lubricating grease and diesel, provided a working context to the event.

All were beaming. None more so than Mayor Ferguson.

“With the outstanding support of the provincial government, we are finally able to undertake this long-overdue once-in-a-generation infrastructure project,” said Mayor Ferguson.

The project will now be tendered with work expected to begin this year, according to the mayor.

The County’s head of engineering, Cristal Laanstra, is confident her team can bring the project in on budget. Laanstra noted that the budget estimates include a 25 per cent contingency to cover “market variability, unforeseen conditions, and general pricing uncertainty.”

Director Laanstra noted, too, that its tender documents contain provisions under which fluctuations in oil and petroleum prices are shared between the contractor and the County—offering a measure of insulation for asphalt supplies.

Members of the County Road 49 Working Group gather for a photo at the announcement of a major investment in the project made last week in Picton.