Sign up for the paNOW newsletter

City to ask province to help pay for Little Red park, Hwy 55 bridge repairs

Aug 22, 2013 | 12:09 PM

The City of Prince Albert will be preparing a letter to send to the province to request financial assistance with the repairs to Little Red River Park and the Highway 55 bridge outside of the park.

The park remains closed, and will be closed at least until the fall. Lane restrictions are also ongoing on the bridge. It’s all the result of damage stemming from flooding and high flows in the Little Red River. The Water Security Agency ordered the release of water from a dam near Anglin Lake to relieve pressure on the lake after a heavy amount of rain fell in June, leading to higher river flows.

City manager Robert Cotterill said administration will be bringing a report to council outlining what steps have been taken to get the park back into service and will indicate what it thinks the costs associated are. It will also be seeking council’s approval to send a letter to the province about the costs and what contribution the city may be able to obtain from the province.

He said he doesn’t even want to guess at what the cost to make the repairs will be. “In this economic climate, trying to tender anything at this point in time, you never know what kind of pricing you’re going to receive.”

“Because the problems that we’re having in Little Red are greatly related to the opening of the dam at Anglin Lake,” he said.

On Wednesday, ministry of government relations spokesperson Jay Teneycke said he cannot comment on the letter, since the province hasn’t received it yet.

He said that in the event of a disaster, municipalities can access funding through the Provincial Disaster Assistance Program (PDAP). Local authorities pay a deductible equivalent to a certain portion of their taxable assessment. After the deductibles are paid, then PDAP pays 100 per cent of the remaining eligible expenses, he said.

Cotterill said there are three major bridges that are damaged within the park, as well as the Highway 55 bridge. “The banks of the river has been expanded, to the point that they’ve destroyed parts of a trail system. Our power into the park has been compromised and we need Hydro [SaskPower] to go into the park and string new line for us and take one of the poles out of the river that’s currently standing in the river.”

There is power flowing to the Cosmopolitan Lodge, but it’s only single feed from one direction, and power is being fed from the west part of the park right now, Cotterill said. They would, however, like to get the dual feed back into service. A work order for power-related repairs within the park has been filed with SaskPower.

The city, he said, is concerned that the way the river’s banks have changed will require it to put armour coating along the edge of the banks of the river so they don’t slough in more, Cotterill said.

The first item on the list for repairs is the Highway 55 bridge. To that end, Prince Albert’s administration is putting the tender together for the bridge’s repairs, because the city has to get it back into service as soon as possible, Cotterill said.

But repairs within the park are also being looked at.

“We’re talking to contractors at this time about repairing the concrete road bridge within the park. We think we can get that back into service fairly cheaply and quickly, which will allow us to use at least the upper part of the park.”

All of the problems the engineers surveying damage in the park have found won’t set back the staggered opening of Little Red River Park. “We’ve got some huge obligations that we’ve got to keep in mind. We do have the [2014 Saskatchewan] Winter Games here this year. And so, we’re working on a tight time frame to getting that back on course.”

tjames@panow.com

On Twitter: @thiajames