Spaniard’s Bay still on track to see Pondside Road paved

By Mark Squibb | April 1, 2021

It’s been almost a year since the federal government announced it would contribute to the paving and upgrading of Pondside Road in Spaniard’s Bay, but the project is still not started.

During its March meeting, council had to re-do a motion requesting permission to borrow money for the project since they have updated banking information since the initial motion was made months back.

The motion, which was approved unanimously, was that the Town write the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Environment seeking approval to borrow $230,126 from the Bank of Nova Scotia for the project.

The loan is to be repaid within 10 years, and will cover the Town’s portion of the project’s cost. The federal government will contribute $690,449 from the Rural and Northern Communities Infrastructure Stream to the project.

Mayor Paul Brazil noted the motions were simply to reflect the newly updated information and that the project has already been committed to.

The work, which includes new culverts and asphalt, was announced in May of 2020. Construction is estimated to start in July this year and finish up by October 31.