Phase 2 of Huron Street reconstruction awarded for $1.7M more than expected

CONNOR LUCZKA, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The City of Stratford is moving forward with the second phase of the Huron Street reconstruction project.

At the city council meeting on April 27, council awarded the tender to Birnam Excavating Limited for $8,615,936.82 including HST, the lowest bid. The work will replace underground infrastructure, renew the roadway and sidewalks and upgrade the signalized intersection infrastructure at Foreman Avenue, as well as reconstruct the stretch of road from John Street to Matilda Street.

The total project costs exceed the amount allotted in the 2025 budget, $6.3 million. According to the staff report, several factors have contributed to the tender price exceeding the original estimate.

“First, initial project estimates are typically based on benchmark pricing observed over the past two years and do not always fully reflect the added complexity of reconstructing a provincial highway while maintaining traffic,” the report reads. “In addition, recent increases in fuel and asphalt prices have raised operating and material input costs and have introduced further uncertainty into future cost projections.”

“Essentially, each year, we provide a 10-year capital plan for the upcoming works,” Taylor Crinklaw, director of infrastructure services, explained. “So essentially, what would happen is we have a certain amount that we've dedicated like what's going to happen is something that we're hoping to happen next year, or part of it might be slightly reduced to account for the fund that's available. So it does impact our consideration for the 2027 capital projects.”

As noted in the report, council had three options given the tender overage: proceed with the project and adjust the funding, postpone the project or reduce the scop and retender it – the latter two would have impacted funding from the provincial government through the Connecting Link Fund, which has contributed a combined $3 million to the project to date.