Artist rendition of what the Confederation bridge will look like.
The trade war is costing Smiths Falls an additional $77,000 to their confederation bridge construction through lumber and steel tariffs.
They’ll pull the money from reserves, and the total project cost now eclipses $2.6 million.
Director of Public Works and Utilities Paul McMunn says the softwood lumber they’re using is Canadian made but in order for it to be manufactured into usable glulam timber for the bridge’s arch, it needs to head south.
McMunn adds that the steel tarrifs also come into play, though an exact cost impact on the ladder is not yet known.
This is a tough but necessary pill to swallow says Councillor Dawn Quinn.
The town’s already spent about $100,000 on the pre-installation.
Council also expressed interest last week in adding high arch lighting to the bridge, which is an additional $81,400, resulting in an addition of around $159,000 to the price tag.
The town did receive funding for this project from Natural Resources Canada in the amount of $495,000 to effectively reduce the overall cost of the project.
Mayor Shawn Pankow said if not for the federal help, the tariffs costs would be much harder to stomach.
Shovels are expected to be in the ground by late May or early June, with the plan to have the bridge installed by the end of summer.
Story by Grant Deme