Saint John is securing funding to raise the Courtney Bay Causeway.
At Monday’s council meeting, councillors approved the city entering into a funding agreement with the federal government under the Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund to move forward with a revised version of the project.
The funding will cover 40 per cent of the cost to raise the causeway to better protect the east side of the city from sea level rise and storm surge.
The city initially submitted a funding application in 2021, proposing the development of a forebay pumping station. The federal government approved the funding in 2022.
However, after completing an initial investigation and conceptual design for the causeway renewal, it was determined the pumping station would not be feasible.
According to a report from city staff, the pumping station was ruled out due to the high cost of installation and limited upstream benefit relative to the expense.
The investigation also found that if the causeway were to be overtopped and fail, the estimated impacts would include roughly $251 million in property damage and municipal repair costs.
After revisiting the project, city staff determined the causeway could be renewed and raised within the approved DMAF funding. However, to cover the remaining costs, the width of the causeway would need to be reduced from four lanes to two, Coun. Gary Sullivan said.
“We’ll have two very nice lanes that’ll get us across the causeway and a trail for active transportation as well, so that we can safely manoeuvre and have folks from the east side join us uptown,” he said. “It will be a modern, rebuilt causeway.”
Under the revised plan, the causeway would be raised to 7.5 metres and include a multi-use trail and a one-metre barrier.
The motion passed unanimously.
According to the staff report, following council’s approval, staff will seek formal confirmation from the federal government and proceed with the design phase.
The total project cost is currently estimated at $19.2 million.
Funding for further investigation and detailed design is included in the city’s 2026 general fund capital program, with the city’s total contribution projected at $11.5 million over three years.
Design and permitting are expected to take two years, with construction planned for 2028, the report said.
