Extra funds allow Paradise to go the extra mile – less a couple hundred metres
By Mark Squibb
A funding surplus means that the Town of Paradise will complete an additional 143 metres of upgrades along Kenmount Road extension sooner than anticipated.
Back in 2024, the town was approved for $3.2 million in cost-shared funding for phase one of upgrades to Kenmount Road, with the project cost split pretty well evenly between the feds, the province, and the town. The project included installation of storm sewer, curb and gutter along approximately 550 meters of Kenmount Road from the McNamara Drive/Kenmount Road intersection to civic address 1250. The section of road would also be fully resurfaced and widened to include a third turning lane.
In 2025, council awarded a construction tender to Modern Paving Limited in the amount of $2.8 million, plus HST.
Following completion of the work, the town was left with a surplus of Rural Northern Communities Funding Program funding in the amount of $850,345, HST excluded. Staff recommended using the surplus funds to complete an additional 143 metres of work at a cost of about of about $611,354, HST included, increasing the total length of phase 1 to approximately 693 metres. The current construction phase, including additional work, will wrap up near the Benjamin Moore Paint Shop at 1237 Kenmount Road heading towards the Kenmount Road/Karwood Drive roundabout.
“The main point here is that there was some left over funding from the Rural Northern Communities funding program, and it’s nice to see that we’re able to sue that funding to continue on with the Kenmount Road Extension Phase One, and be able to use that instead of having to see it go to no use or go back to the government,” added Furlong.
The change notice, the sixth for the project, was approved unanimously this June.
Back in June of 2025, staff had recommended using the funding surplus to install water and sewer connections and use the remaining funds to extend the project east to a maximum of $535,145, HST included.
Upon review, the Town could not use the RNCF funding to install water and sewer connections as that was outside the scope of the funding agreement. That work was instead funded through gas tax revenue.