Prince Edward County Council voted to approve a $5.3 million contract for the reconstruction of Picton Main Street on May 10.

The contract, which concerns the area of Main Street from Bridge Street to Johnson Street, was awarded to R.W Tomlinson Limited, who successfully underbid the only other bidding company by roughly $1.5 million dollars.

Questions and concerns abounded over the overall project’s price tag, which, originally in 2021, came in at 100 per cent more than what budget estimated. Joe Angelo, project manager with the municipality, responded that there is no direct answer for the cost increases. He also commented that other municipalities are encountering this trend and mentioned that oil prices are impacting the price of asphalt and diesel fuel. Due to this, and subsequent sticker shocks, the decision was made to scope-down and split the reconstruction into two phases in order to preserve capital budget. The reconstructions’ latter phase running from Johnson Street to Spencer Street is planned to commence in 2023.

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