Our government has been at the table since 2021, working with the Town of Sussex to develop a flood mitigation strategy. We have all witnessed and felt the devastating effects of seasonal flooding first-hand. That is why today, I was pleased to be at Town Hall to announce that our government is helping Sussex to implement its flood mitigation strategy by committing over $13 million in funding to the project.
This commitment includes $919,317 in funding for the construction of a berm and $158,000 to cover half the design and planning costs, a cost the province is splitting 50/50 with the Town of Sussex. Pending the engineering work and approval, our government will commit an additional $12 million for the larger flood mitigation work.
This berm, which will be located on Meadow Crescent, is expected to protect about 80 homes from flooding -- these homes would not otherwise be expected to benefit from the larger flood mitigation plan. The engineering work will provide more accurate cost estimates for implementing the full mitigation strategy. It will also include the environmental studies needed to register the berm project for an environmental impact assessment.
This is an important project for residents and businesses in our town and the entire Sussex region. So much hardship has been created by the floods we’ve seen over the last decade, but as we so often do, our small town will pull together to overcome a big challenge.
The Town of Sussex Flood Mitigation Master Plan’s approximate cost is $38 million. In addition to our government’s $13 million commitment, the Town of Sussex is committing $10.3 million and the federal government is committing $15.3 million through Infrastructure Canada.
From Mayor Marc Thorne: “With the support of our federal and provincial partners, our community is positioned to finally end the flooding that has created so much harm over the last decade. This funding from Infrastructure Canada and the Regional Development Corporation will help us finalize our environmental assessments and begin the construction phases that have been identified in our master flood mitigation plan. I want to express my deepest gratitude to everyone, from all levels of government, who have played a role in helping us achieve success to this point, including mayors and councillors of the former Village of Sussex Corner.”
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