Maley Drive gets go-ahead: construction on Sudbury arterial road begins this summer.

• Author: MacDonald, Darren
• Position: NEWS

The City of Greater Sudbury is getting ready to build the $80.1-million Maley Drive extension, and contracts were set to be tendered by the end of May.

A report headed to council on May 10 said since the federal government announced its one-third share in April (the province announced its share of funding in 2014), the city has to file a formal financial plan explaining how the project will be financed.

The city has been setting aside more than $2 million a year for Maley for several years, and has more than $15 million in the bank for the project.

Setting aside the remaining $11.7 million will take a little more than five years.

"The city is responsible to cover its share of the construction cost and any ineligible expenses, such as property costs," the report said.

Before any construction contracts can be tendered, councillors have to approve the financial plan. The goal is to begin construction in July.

"This contract will extend to the end of 2017 and include the construction of the majority of the Notre Dame interchange and the realignment of Notre Dame Avenue," the report said. "The remaining work will be tendered in the following years with completion in 2019."

In addition to the planned road work, there's funding in the water/sewer capital budget to replace the water main along Maley Drive from Junction Creek to National Street, a distance of about 700 metres.

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The work is proposed to be completed in 2016. Staff will report back to council regularly regarding the construction schedule and budget.

On April 7, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced long-awaited federal funds for Maley Drive, a...