North Bay City Council awarded a contract during its Tuesday, Feb. 11 regular meeting that Premier Road residents and users hope will finally launch the first phase of infrastructure improvements on the busy dead-end road along Lake Nipissing in the city's south end.
See related: It's been a bumpy path to Premier Road improvements
Acting on a staff recommendation, the council unanimously approved a $2.17-million contract with Pioneer Construction for the construction of sidewalks and stormwater improvements on Premier Road. Councillors Mac Bain and Tanya Vrebosch were absent. The contract also includes the resurfacing of Premier Road from the unopened Fowler right-of-way to Champlain Park.
This first phase is scheduled to be completed by November and will require an additional $806,000 to complete. A line reflecting this amount has been entered into the 2025 capital budget.
See: Relief in sight for North Bay's worst road
Coun. Justine Mallah said prior to the vote, "We've heard from citizens in this chamber regarding concerns about Premier Road and pedestrian safety, and I think with the proximity of lake access points and Champlain Park and the dog park, this enhancement is really important."
Premier Road, a recent mainstay on the CAA Worst Roads list, finished fifth in the Northern Region in 2024. For two consecutive years, Premier Road had been voted North Bay's worst road and in 2023, was named the third-worst in the region.
See also: North Bay's worst road to undergo upgrades, repairs in 2024
The City had originally set a tentative start date of mid-August 2024 for the sidewalk, drainage, and road resurfacing project from Fowler Street to Champlain Park but later acknowledged the project had fallen behind schedule due to delays in awarding a contract and completing the engineering design, pushing it to this year.
See: City: Premier Road work delayed
Coun. Mark King noted, "It's good to see this whole project moving forward. Obviously, the whole Premier Road situation, and the actual condition of the road, the lack of sidewalks, and the busyness of that whole corridor right down to the beach is really quite something to watch. I'm sure that the community and the people that live on that road are looking forward to seeing this development completed."
A second phase of the project, which includes resurfacing of the remainder of Premier Road and construction of a sewage pumping station project will take place during the 2026 construction season, according to Young.
Five bids were evaluated with price as the sole criteria evaluated. The City of North Bay stated the bid from Pioneer Construction was considered fair and reasonable, was the lowest compliant bid, and provided the best overall value.