GUELPH – Wellington County will contribute $661,681 toward reconstruction of the Station Street dam control structure in Hillsburgh.
County council approved a roads committee recommendation to commit the funds for the shared cost project at the Jan. 30 meeting.
“That’s a shared asset, or parts of it are a shared asset, between the Town of Erin and the County of Wellington and so the Town of Erin has forwarded to us our portion of the cost to renew that structure,” explained councillor Andy Lennox, roads committee chair.
“The committee accepted that item as presented.”
A staff report from county engineer Don Kudo explains the Town of Erin recently awarded a tender for the reconstruction of Station Street that will include the replacement of the dam control structure.
Station Street’s right of way is located atop the Hillsburgh Dam. The dam’s stop-log control structure and portions of the upstream face of the earthen berm structure are located within the adjacent north property limits owned by the county.
Since the county shares ownership of the dam, the town’s consulting engineer reviewed the construction tender and assessed a project cost share to the county of $661,681 excluding HST.
“The assessment is consistent with the Lakes and Rivers Improvement Act, which is an act that governs the design, construction, operation, maintenance and safety of dams in Ontario,” the report notes.
A $675,000 allocation for the county share of the project was included the 2020 capital budget.
On Dec. 3, Erin council accepted a bid of $2.53 million for the reconstruction of the Station Street dam and bridge.
The reconstruction process has been under discussion since 2011 when the failure of a dam outlet pipe and weakness in the roadway required temporary closure for repairs and reinforcement and the province insisted the dam be brought up to modern standards.
Bronte Construction submitted the lowest of eight bids for the project.
