MOUNTAIN VIEW COUNTY – There are currently no plans to so much as even consider closing any bridges anywhere in Mountain View County, the reeve has said, as upkeep is described as manageable right now even with the amount the province is kicking in for infrastructure funding.
Angela Aalbers, who is also the Mountain View County Division 5 councillor, was responding to questions about a recent report released by the Rural Municipalities of Alberta that had identified a province-wide infrastructure deficit amounting to $2.29 billion.
The advocacy organization was calling for a substantial increase in funding to address the matter of degrading bridges, roads and culverts across Alberta.
“This has been an issue that’s been ongoing my whole entire career as an elected official – so over the last 11 years – where aging infrastructure and the extremely high cost and the escalation in inflation on road projects has just been exorbitant,” Aalbers told the Albertan.
“And so it’s no surprise to me that this report has come out calling for additional funding and additional support for infrastructure such as bridges and roads in rural municipalities,” she said.
“I believe most rural municipalities have a deficit – or will have an infrastructure deficit in the near future – as all of our bridges are of the vintage of the ’60s and ’70s and they’re all coming towards the end of their life, not much different than rural hospitals and most infrastructure.
“We are just really seeing the crunch now.”
The county has within its jurisdiction an inventory of approximately 260 bridges, culverts and road structures, she said, adding that figure is fairly high in comparison with many other rural municipalities throughout the province.
Additionally, she said there are more than 2,800 kilometres of roads that include hard surface, gravel and chip seal.
“It’s no small feat to maintain and upkeep all of the infrastructure that we have.”
Yet for now at least, she said the county finds itself in a manageable position.
“But the anticipation is that within the next 15 years, Mountain View County will also be in a significant deficit,” she added.
“In the next couple of years, we are going to be seeing in excess of $8 million annually” that will be required to both repair as well as replace infrastructure including bridges, she said.
“So it’s not insignificant for the county, and we will see a large funding requirement in the next five to 10 years,” she said.
While county officials are always looking for any opportunity to safely and efficiently extend the life of bridges wherever possible, there comes a point where spending the money in the short-term to outright replace the infrastructure is a more fiscally responsible approach than repeatedly patching or repairing deteriorating infrastructure which over the long-term becomes much more costly. These factors are taken into consideration, she said.
“We do always run the numbers and calculate any capital expenditure on a lifecycle,” she said.
“In some instances, maintenance may be warranted in the next few years. But definitely it comes to a point where replacement is the best option for taxpayer dollars in the long run.”
Asked how many bridges in the county might be in need of urgent attention, the reeve replied, “We have no unsafe bridges in the county. We deal with it if and when we have to; there is a standardized provincial requirement for bridge inspections.”
So as of the time she spoke with the Albertan, Aalbers said the county does not have any infrastructure in urgent need of attention.
“We just have requirements for repairs and replacement,” she said, adding the county has compiled an extensive list as part of a 20-year bridge program.
As for any major impending repair or replacement projects that might be on the docket, the reeve said county council has its fall workshop coming up at the end of October and will be deliberating on allocating funds for identified priorities.
Responding to a question about her thoughts on suggestions from some provincial officials that the most cost-effective solution in some instances might simply be to close certain bridges, she said, “Our council has discussed bridge rationalization. This isn’t something that’s new.”
Later elaborating on the term “bridge rationalization,” the reeve said, “That’s the political term for closing down bridges.”
But she recognized that existing bridges were not randomly built on a whim and that they serve to connect residents and businesses with their communities and by extension provide vital links that are also used by industry and therefore have important economic spinoffs.
“Our council is of the opinion that the bridges within Mountain View County are very important,” she said. “We have no plans at this point for any bridge rationalization.”
That’s not necessarily to say the situation won’t change given the passage of time as well as evolving circumstances and “that future councils won’t have to make more difficult decisions, depending on how much funding is available,” she added.
“But at this point, the county’s long-range plans do not include any closing of bridges.”
Up until the 1990s, such infrastructure was a provincial responsibility, which was then transferred into the hands of municipal governments.
“The key there is when they pushed it off onto municipalities, it came with funding,” said Aalbers.
“The idea was, from the province, is rural municipalities know their infrastructure better and they’ll be able to be more efficient with the dollars. But the transfer of the assets came with funding. And over the year, the funding has (all but) disappeared but the responsibility has not,” she said.
“So be careful what you accept from the province.”
Nevertheless, the reeve reiterated and emphasized the fact that county council “is not considering bridge rationalization at this point.”
It’s also important for the community to understand just how vital long-term capital planning, which includes setting aside reserves for impending projects, has become, she added.
“Because we cannot collect enough municipal taxes within a year to pay for the large capital projects. And so, pre-planning is so important in this day and age to ensure that we have that financial stability to pay for these large projects that are coming down the pipe.
