by Sylene Argent, Local Journalism Initiative
The Town of Essex’s Infrastructure Services Department has put together a Five-Year Capital Infrastructure Plan, focusing on the years 2025-2029, for all infrastructure projects.
It also includes a list of priority projects for the years 2030-2034.
The proposed Five-Year Capital Infrastructure Plan will set a schedule and priorities for the renewal of critical infrastructure, implement a growth framework to support development, ensure cost and schedule certainty for projects, and plan financially. It will also convey future projects to the public, allowing residents to know when their roads or water-mains will be done.
Council for the Town of Essex received the Five-Year Capital Infrastructure Plan in principle during a special meeting last Wednesday evening, with intention to consider adoption at the first Council meeting in December.
This will give time for Councillors to look over the document and get public feedback.
As capital plans are fluid, the intent is that it will change annually, Director of Infrastructure Services, Kevin Girard, noting as time goes on priorities shift.
“This project is a culmination of multiple years of work,” Girard explained. “It is something we have been doing internally for years.”
David McBeth, Manager of Capital Work and Asset Management, outlined the Five-Year Capital Infrastructure Plan includes $53.21M in capital projects proposed – of which $43.37M being projects related to roads and bridges – over the next half-of-a-decade.
The Infrastructure Department knows Council previously requested a ten-year roads plan be created. Budgeting and planning beyond five-years is difficult – with potential projects shifting and unknown budgets, so just a list is proposed for years six-10, McBeth said.
A variety of factors were reviewed in creating the document, including analyzing infrastructure lifecycles, pavement conditions, strategic plan initiatives, and risk analyses and funding. They also considered equity amongst the wards.
He added coordinating work with the County of Essex and neighbouring municipalities was tried on shared roads, as well.
The plan outlines costs of projects, but not necessarily how they will be funded.
The plan does not include any impacts due to development as the Town does not have control over the timing, except for the Hanlan Street extension. This is a project that is driven by both the impacts from the Highway 3 expansion and a future residential development, McBeth said.
Projects included in the Five-Year Capital Infrastructure Plan will be requested as part of future budgets, including the 2025 Budget, the report notes.
McBeth noted there are no reconstruction projects proposed in 2025. The first set of reconstruction projects will be in 2026, including the Maidstone and Talbot intersection; and the second phase of the Essex Centre Streetscape, from Maidstone to Cameron. This is suggested as the water-main beneath the road needs to be completed.
In 2027, staff is looking to complete the South Talbot and Maidstone Avenue intersection. In 2028, the Town will try to do the Hanlan Street extension, and Murdoch Street and Walnut Street South works in Harrow. In 2029, proposed to fix the roadway along Brien Avenue, including Maple and Stanley.
Post 2029 work lists: Gosfield Townline and Frances Court, from Maidstone to Brien; Maidstone Avenue, from Gosfield to roundabout; Arthur Avenue, from Talbot to Gosfield; Essex Streetscape phase 3, from Arthur to Gosfield; Maidstone Avenue, from Talbot to Gosfield; Talbot Street North, from Hopgood to Maidstone; Harrow – northwest quadrant, from Roseborough/Sinasac to Queen to CR20; Harrow – northeast quadrant, from Queen Street/Sinasac to Herdman/CR20.
McBeth also outlined proposed hot mix asphalt, surface treatment, bridges, sidewalks and trails, water-mains, and stormwater infrastructure, from 2025 to post 2029.
When the Town of Essex Council Strategic Action Plan for was adopted in June of last year for this Term, it included completing a 10-year roads forecast with a prioritized list of required future roads projects and projected costs. It also sets out to complete a five-year capital forecast for future water, wastewater, and storm water projects, including funding model options.
This step is bringing that information into a forum that is available to Council and members of the public.
“In essence, we were able to say that we’ve completed those as of tonight,” Girard said.
The Town of Essex has around 324KMs of roads; of which 276km are either asphalt or tar and chip, and 48kms are gravel. There are also 97 bridges and culverts, 536kms of municipal drains, 81kms of storm-sewers, and 51kms of sidewalks.
All of that is maintained by the Public Works Department’s nine operators and one mechanic.
Essex, Girard said, ranks third for the most roads in the region of the seven local municipalities, following behind Lakeshore and Leamington.
It also has the least number of residents per lane kilometer of road, and ranks last amongst municipal neighbours in how much money is collected from taxation per lane kilometer of road. That is how road projects are funded, Girard pointed out.
The Town also has 328kms of water-mains, 725 fire hydrants, 100kms of sanitary sewers, two elevated water towers, one water treatment plant, and one water pollution control plant through the Environmental Services. This is maintained through four water operators and a long-term contract with the Ontario Clean Water Agency.
Essex ranks second in the region for most water-mains, behind Lakeshore. And ranks second last in terms of population served per kilometer of water-main.
“When looking at these statistics and how our revenues compared to the infrastructure that we own, you can see why Essex has such challenges, municipally, when it comes to collecting monies and completing infrastructure projects,” Girard noted.
Essex’s Asset Management Plan (AMP) was an important tool in developing the five-year capital forecast and the funding models that go along them, Girard explained.
In the latest AMP for core assets, Girard said Town staff put in significant effort to analyze risk and criticality of infrastructure, lifecycle strategies, and assess levels of service. The 2022 AMP assessed current levels of service. The next will look at proposed levels of service and non-core assets.
The AMP also notes the Town has $621M worth of core infrastructure assets, including $205M in road replacement costs.
When looking at the condition of Essex’s core assets, Girard said 80% are in fair or better condition. Roads make up the majority of poor to fair assets. Replacing and maintaining roads has the biggest burden in terms of lifecycle investment.
Councillor Kim Verbeek asked about projects where resurfacing takes place before bridge work, as bridges require large equipment and may potentially damage newly paved surfaces.
McBeth noted that projects can be changed as they need to. Sometimes, he added, there are long stretches of road that are done to a portion leading up to the bridge work, for instance.
Councillor Joe Garon liked the interactive map the report includes. It seems water-mains and storms are driving factors as to what roads are done. He asked about roads and underground works that need to be done and the ability to hold such projects until the Town could afford to do all the work. McBeth noted that was possible.
Garon noted that future works included with Bell, Thomas, Harvey, and Medora in Essex Centre are not slated to include curbs. He wondered why that was. McBeth said that is because of the grading.
Councillor Katie McGuire-Blais asked Town staff to provide a financial comparison over a 30-year span on what the Town does to maintain a road to a scenario that is left to go into a poor state and then reconstructed.
She wants to see the savings in maintenance.
“This is a really good start,” Essex Mayor Sherry Bondy said. “It’s optimistic. I hope we get it all done and we can do even more.”