Bonnyville council has approved an additional 0,000 in funding to keep the Town’s 2026 Road Repair Program on track after construction costs came in higher than expected.

The decision allows the Town to move forward with the full scope of planned repairs and infrastructure upgrades this construction season, rather than scaling back projects.

The 2026 program includes road resurfacing, curb and sidewalk repairs, water and sewer infrastructure replacements, accessibility improvements and work at the Town lagoon. Key projects include replacing seven water valves, five catch basins, two sanitary manholes, and an outlet control structure at the lagoon, as well as installing three accessibility ramps throughout the community.

Council heard that while the project was budgeted at approximately $1.78 million, rising construction costs and limited contingency funding resulted in a shortfall after tenders were received.

Councillor Neil Langridge questioned why the pricing appeared significantly higher than in previous years.

Chief Administrative Officer Quinton Wintfley said inflation continues to affect municipal construction projects across Alberta.

“It seems like the contractors don’t have a lot of work, but at the same time they’re very much impacted by all of the inflationary pressures lately,” said Wintfley.

Councillor Phil Kushnir asked whether the Town could reject the bids and retender the project to obtain lower prices.

Wintfley told council there was no assurance that costs would come down and warned that restarting the process could delay the project beyond this year’s construction window.

Council also discussed the impact on reserves. Councillor Kayla Blanchette asked how much funding would remain available after the transfer.

Administration reported that the Town’s Sewer Capital Reserve would be reduced to approximately $166,000, while the General Capital Reserve would remain at roughly $2.4 million.

Rather than removing projects from the program, council chose to fund the shortfall through reserve transfers, approving $160,000 from the Capital Sewer Reserve and $250,000 from the General Capital Reserve.

The contract was awarded to E-Construction, with work expected to be completed by Sept. 25.

The decision means residents can expect to see a variety of road, sidewalk, and underground infrastructure improvements throughout Bonnyville over the coming months as part of the Town’s annual repair program.