Historically, the City of Windsor has been the successful recipient of funding under Intake #3 (2018-19), Intake #4 (2019-20) and most recently Intake #5 (2020-21) resulting in $9M in grant funding. The construction related to Intake #4 is completed and the project related to Intake #5 is expected to be completed in 2021.

In August 2020, Administration received notification the MTO was accepting applications for Connecting Links funding for new projects (Intake #6). Administration is recommending in this report that an application for Intake # 6, due by the November 6, 2020 at 5 pm EST, be submitted.

Discussion:

Connecting Links 2021-22 (Intake #6) applications are required to be submitted by November 6, 2020 and notification of decisions should be Spring 2021. Municipalities with one connecting link road, such as Windsor, are allowed to submit one project per year. The program will fund up to 90% of total eligible project costs, to a maximum of $3M. A one-stage application process will by used. The MTO will prioritize projects that best meet the objectives of the Connecting Links Program, addressing critical and urgent connecting link needs first. Funding decisions will take into consideration the ministry’s prioritization of the submitted projects, regional connecting links needs and available budget in any year.

Funding will be provided on a milestone payment approach with these deadlines:

The project submission is for reconstruction of Huron Church from Girardot to Dorchester. This work involves removing 32” of the current concrete and base material, and replacing with 16” granular A base, a 4” drainage layer topped by 12” of concrete. Administration is proposing to proceed with the conventional 12” heavy duty concrete road cross-section, the same design used to reconstruct the phase of Huron Church Road from Malden Road to Pool Avenue funded by Connecting Links Intake 4. Also included are the reconstruction of traffic signals at the Girardot and Huron Church intersection, new median concrete walls and landscaping.

The project will span two fiscal years with engineering and design work occurring in 2021, while the reconstruction work is expected to begin in the Spring of 2022 and be completed in the Fall of 2022.

This section of road is constantly impacted by the volume of heavy commercial truck traffic which has adversely impacted the road and expedited the deterioration. The total cost for this project is expected to be $8.6M (including non-recoverable HST). Should the City be successful in obtaining Connecting Link funding of $3M for the Giradot to Dorchester section, the City would be required to commit approximately $5.6M (65% of total costs) to complete the City’s work.

This application has a requirement to supply confirmation of various asset management practices and information. This is becoming a common requirement for recent senior