WHEREAS Alberta has a number of bridges on its rural roads which require significant, predictable and sustainable infrastructure funding for repairs and maintenance; and

WHEREAS the total estimated value of bridge structures that are located on municipal roads is estimated at $3.5 billion; and

WHEREAS the GAP-01 Funding Guidelines for Municipal Bridge Structures were created in 1991 to assist municipalities in the ongoing maintenance, upgrading and replacement of local road bridge structures; and

WHEREAS the current level of funding for this program has not been meeting demands in many jurisdictions especially with inflation and cost escalation in Alberta; and

WHEREAS a majority of the bridge structures in use today were constructed in the 1940’s, 1950s and 1960s and are nearing or have exceeded their 60-year life expectancy; and

WHEREAS these critical structures pose a serious safety concern and public liability if not replaced or rehabilitated in an appropriate time frame, especially in the case of catastrophic failures; and

WHEREAS there are recommendations from the province to the municipalities to develop a plan for the closure of bridges, or to rank bridges according to a priority for funding considerations; and

WHEREAS the province is currently listing some bridges that are in need of repair as a low priority and therefore not eligible for funding, therefore requiring the municipality to fund the project on its own if the structure is to remain open; and

WHEREAS the annual contribution required to replace or rehabilitate the existing 9,500 local structures based on the estimated remaining life of bridge structures is estimated at $60 million; and

WHEREAS the current annual level of funding of $22 million is inadequate to meet the basic needs of municipalities;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties urge the Government of Alberta to increase the level of funding for the replacement and or rehabilitation of bridge structures on municipal roads to a level that reflects the needs of the community, agricultural sector and local industry; and

FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED that the existing Guidelines and Procedures (GAP-01) for Municipal Bridge Structure Funding be increased substantially from the present level of $22 million per year to address this growing infrastructure deficit.

Three resolutions have been provided to the province from the AAMDC in regards to bridges in the recent past. 
– Resolution 4 – 09S from Lacombe County requested that the AAMDC urge the Government of Alberta to immediately expand funding to the Local Road Bridge Program…The government response was to outline the existing program and its increase since 2001/02 and to outline other programs that could be used to fund bridge work.  This response was accepted in principle.
– Resolution 17 – 08S from the MD of Spirit River urged Alberta Infrastructure and Transportation to not make any decisions on amending guidelines and procedures for bridge construction without input from all municipalities.  The action from the province has been found to be unsatisfactory as no updates have been received.
– Resolution 1 – 07F from the MD of Greenview requested an increase in the level of funding for the replacement of bridges on municipal roads.  Further a request was made to increase the funding substantially from the present level of $22 million per year.  The status of the resolution is unsatisfactory.  The Fall 2009 advocacy report card indicates that “With the current economic situation and smaller provincial budget, it is unclear as to when this may be resolved.”
This resolution is intended to mirror to an extent the Greenview resolution and to ensure that the issue of bridges in rural Alberta is kept on the AAMDC and Provincial radars.

As reported in the AAMDC Background for the Greenview resolution, “In May 2006, the AAMDC released (the sic.)Rural Transportation Funding Options Report.  This reviewed infrastructure grant funding for municipalities, including the Local Bridge Program.  It was found that based on an average life span of 75 years, bridges were at an average of 46 per cent life expectancy.  This report identified the total annual funding needed in order to bring the rural bridge structures up to an acceptable standard. “

Resolution 4-09S: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties urge the Government of Alberta to immediately expand funding to the Local Road Bridge Program to utilize the “shovel ready” local road bridge projects, representing local projects that are labour intensive and can provide immediate employment and business activity benefits to the provincial and local economies.

Resolution 17-08S: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the AAMDC urge Alberta Infrastructure and Transportation to not make any decisions on amending guidelines and procedures for bridge construction without input from all municipalities.

Resolution 1-07F: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties urge the Government of Alberta to increase the level of funding for the replacement of bridges on municipal roads to a level that reflects the needs of the community, agricultural sector and local industry; and

FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED that the existing Guidelines and Procedures (GAP-01) for Municipal Bridge Structure Funding be increased substantially from the present level of $22 million per year to address this growing infrastructure deficit.

Transportation:
Municipal bridge structures are the responsibility of the local municipality to manage.  Alberta Transportation provides funding support specifically for bridges through the Local Road Bridge Program.  The government also provides funding support for municipal capital infrastructure through programs such as the Municipal Sustainability Initiative and the Basic Municipal Transportation Grant.  Municipalities establish their local priorities under these programs, and can use these funds for replacement and/or rehabilitation of bridge structures on municipal roads.

Alberta Transportation is not prepared to increase the Local Road Bridge Program funding allocations at this time.

The initial response from the Government clearly denied new funding for bridges. However, in 2012-13 the province did increase Local Road Bridge Program funding to $26 million. This represented a consistent growth of local bridge funding over the past ten years. However, in 2013-14 the province zero-funded the Strategic Transportation Infrastructure Program (STIP) which includes the Local Road Bridge Program. STIP still remains a line item for the province so there is hope that funding will be restored in future years but the current removal of funding deems the province’s response to be unsatisfactory.