Cranbrook residents will continue to see investment in the city’s infrastructure through the 1% dedicated road tax, with about $10-million being invested in local infrastructure this year.
City officials said the tax will go to pay for a number of projects, including resurfacing and upgrading this year. Some major projects include work along Victoria Avenue, 14th Avenue, Theatre Road, 30th Avenue and Innes Avenue.
“Reconstruction on both 30th Avenue and Innes Avenue is well underway with major upgrades to these road structures to accommodate bus traffic.
The remaining resurfacing projects will see work beginning in the coming weeks with completion scheduled for the end of July,” said Cranbrook officials.
Cranbrook’s 1% road tax is contributing about 25% of the total infrastructure budget in 2021.
“This year, between the dedicated tax, other capital funds, and grant funding, we could see about $10-million in investment,” said Mike Matejka, Manager of Infrastructure Planning. “This year, with the dedicated tax alone, we’re sitting at $2.5-million. So that really is multiple times what it was back when this investment program started.”
Over the years, more contracts have been doled out, seeing plenty of work going to Cranbrook streets.
“In 2010, it was the norm to issue only one or two big contracts for our road work, whereas now we typically issue four or five separate contracts each year,” said Matejka. “What this change has done is diversified our investment into the local economy, with multiple contractors having opportunities to take part in roadworks, while ensuring strong competition for good prices and quality of work.”
Local arterial roadways have seen significant investment over the last six years, covering the most heavily used roads, emergency vehicle and commercial vehicle routes.
Further work is planned for the future, focusing on preventative maintenance and fixing some residential streets.
“We’ve completed some major pavement assessments and what we’re really looking to do is create a long-term comprehensive road plan. That means doing proactive maintenance to some roads that maybe aren’t in as bad of shape but do need some work right now where it is more efficient. We’ll also make sure we expand into some local streets where there are some roads in poor condition that do need some upgrades,” explained Matejka.
Roads across the community have seen gradual improvement over the years from the annual tax program.
“The overall road conditions in Cranbrook are trending in a positive direction due to the dedicated tax investments, and we are very much in line with other cities across the province,” said Matejka. “There is still a lot of work left to do and looking ahead our residents can expect continued growth in the amount of work done year over year.”
Estimates from City officials said nearly $17-million will be added to Cranbrook’s capital roads program by 2025.
