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City to spend $720M on road and water main work in 2018 amid multi-billion dollar backlog

CP24.com
May 9, 2018
Chris Fox

The city will spend $720 million on upgrading and replacing aging roads and water mains this year but the chair of the public works and infrastructure committee says that more funds are needed to address a multi-billion repair backlog.

Ward 25 Coun. Jaye Robinson made the comment to reporters during a news conference to mark the beginning of the 2018 construction season.

She said that while the city will spend an additional $15 million on its roads, bridges, sewers and water mains this year compared to last, it will not be enough to put a significant dent in the estimated $3 billion repair backlog for transportation infrastructure and the estimated $5.5 billion repair backlog for Toronto Water infrastructure.

“If I am re-elected I will be pushing to spend more money on infrastructure on our city because there is a major backlog and we will never catch up unless we direct more funds to these initiatives,” she said. “It is actually an unbelievable number (the backlog).”

140 km of road work

The money being directed to infrastructure in 2018 includes $360 million on roads, $299 million on sewers and water mains and $61.2 million on basement flooding protection.

All told, the work will result in about 140 kilometres of road work and 300 kilometres of sewer and water main work.

Robinson said that the city is coordinating the work where possible. For example, in some areas water mains are being replaced at the same time that new TTC track is being laid down while in other areas TTC track work is being paired with the planned reconstruction of a roadway.

She said that efforts are also being taken to expedite the work through extended hours.

At Parliament and Gerrard streets crews will work 24 hours a day, seven days a week from May 14 to June 14 to ensure that the busy intersection does not remain closed into the summer due to TTC track work and the replacement of the roadway.

“We try to honour the fact that most people go to bed around 11 p.m. so we will not be jackhammering or doing any other loud activities after 11 p.m.,” she said. “It is frustrating for residents but it is important work.”

Robinson said that council has been doing a better job of maintaining infrastructure for the last two terms but “let things slide” previous to that.

She said that some of the water mains being replaced this summer are approaching 140 years old.

The age of those water mains, she said, has become a real concern amid an increase in extreme weather events, such as last month’s ice storm.

“The money is flowing but should there be more? Absolutely,” she said.

Some of the major projects planned for this summer are as follows: