Dinn says new road and water tower still on table

Mark Squibb

A decision by the new PC government to scrap all plans for a new hospital at Kenmount Crossing that was promised by the previous Liberal government before last year’s election has raised the ire of Paradise council members. However, Topsail-Paradise MHA and Education Minister Paul Dinn, himself a former councillor, says the concerns are unfounded.

Council had been counting on the hospital to bring with it a new access road for Paradise as a means of alleviating traffic, as well as a new water tower to serve both the hospital and the town.

But the hospital plans were put on hold January 29 with the new government reporting no plans had actually been prepared by the former government to ever make the estimated $10 billion facility a reality.

“Another highway access point is critical for Paradise,” said Deputy Mayor Kimberley Street during her budget presentation speech the day after the announcement. “As a growing town, the traffic frustrations will only continue to grow, and we have expressed this repeatedly to government. Solutions were promised as part of the new hospital coming to the Kenmount Crossings area. In addition, a water tower for the new hospital would have fixed the water pressure issues in Elizabeth Park. But just yesterday, we heard the devastating news that the provincial government has cancelled this project. All of us on council are extremely disappointed with this decision. Short term solutions will not fix traffic issues.”

Street said council would be contacting MHAs, and MHA Paul Dinn in particular, and encouraged residents to do the same.

“The cancellation of the hospital project, and loss of associated infrastructure commitments, including highway access and water improvements is deeply frustrating for our community,” said councillor Erin Furlong. “These were real solutions to real challenges our residents face every single day. Rest assured that we will continue to advocate strongly on their behalf.”

Each member of council expressed their disappointment with the decision, though councillor Glen Carew allowed the decision must have been a “difficult but prudent” one for the new government. Still, Carew likened his feelings to those of Charlie Brown when Lucy pulled the football out from beneath him.
Dinn, meanwhile, said the cancellation of the hospital does not spell the cancellation of the access road and water tower.

“For some reason the town council, and the mayor in particular, has attributed losing the water tower and losing the traffic study (to the decision to cancel the hospital,)” said Dinn. “That’s not at all the case.”

Dinn said he met with Martin on October 15, the day following the election and discussed the planned access road, which would have connected to Topsail Road via Trail’s End Drive.

“Many people along Trails End were upset with the announcement made by the Liberal government about a thoroughfare going up there through their neighbourhood,” said Dinn. “So, I had a chat with the mayor on October 15 and we said we needed to look at other options, and we did.”

Dinn said he had a follow up meeting with Mayor Martin and new Transportation Minister Barry Petten in December to discuss the matter.

“We had said we would complete a regional study looking at the whole picture and move in that direction,” said Dinn. “(The Department) of Transportation and Infrastructure are going to complete a regional study looking at the whole area of CBS and Paradise trying to find a solution in-and-out. That’s something we agreed to do.”

Dinn estimated the study will take a year to complete but hopes ‘low hanging fruit’ such as the implementation of a left turn only lane onto the Karwood roundabout from the Outer Ring Road will be implemented sooner.

“There’s nothing off the books,” said Dinn. “We’re moving ahead, and I would suggest that we’re moving a little faster.”

Dinn added a new water tower will be included in the construction of a new high school, which he anticipates will begin next spring.

“Again, there’s a regional water study being done because both CBS and Paradise need additional water,” said the member.

Dinn said the only ones tying the access road and the water tower to the proposed hospital were the Liberals. He would have appreciated a little heads up, he admitted, before council addressed the matter during the budget meeting and in the media.

“Certainly, if (council) reached out to me, I could have clarified that for them very quickly,” said Dinn. “It is what it is.”

The minister was also critical of the initial announcement, made by the Liberals back in 2024, when then Premier Andrew Furey held a press conference in the woods to announce the hospital. While no tenders for design or construction were ever called, the Liberal government did pay some St. John’s businessmen $23 million for a swath of land to add to the Crown Land on which the facility was to be situated.

“It was an announcement by the previous government, and that’s all it was,” said Dinn of the hospital promise. “There was no budget allocation, there was no plan in place, there was no timeline attached to it, so there’s nothing lost there.”

As for the $10 billion price tag for the hospital, Dinn said the number was determined by the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure and includes land preparation and hospital equipment.

“And again, when we looked at what was there, there was no budget, no plan, no timelines,” he added.