As is the case with most budgets, things don’t always go according to plan. And that will be the case this year in terms of council’s plan for a major infrastructure overhaul along Fourth Avenue South.

The town’s 2023 budget had $1 million allocated toward this project, which would have included major street and sidewalk repairs, sewer renewal, and drainage improvements on the stretch of road between the First and Third Street intersections.

Following last year’s budget planning session in December, CAO Eric King described this section of street as one of the worst roads in the community, with a long history of inadequate drainage.

According to Mayor Myron Dyck, the project recently went to tender. The lowest bid came in at $1.4 million from a company with subpar experience. The next lowest bid was $1.9 million and all the others came in at over $2 million.

“What we’re understanding from residential builders and heavy industrial equipment operators is that there’s a lot of leftover work from last year and they’re busy,” says Dyck. “So there’s a lot of ‘we don’t want it’ quotes right now.”

After some deliberation, council has agreed to keep the $1 million designated for this project in savings for now and delay the project until next year. The plan at this stage is to proceed with another tendering process in the fall and then base their 2024 budget plan on the quotes they receive.

“To those residents [affected], we are asking for patience,” Dyck says. “It is a priority, but it [will create] cost overruns and we don’t have the extra money to spend right now.”

Major infrastructure changes that Niverville residents can count on this year are new traffic lights scheduled to be installed at Mulberry and Highway 311 this spring or summer. Around the same time, two new crosswalks will be installed along Fifth Avenue South.