Brockville Ontario - Brockville's historic railway tunnel is the best candidate for a six-digit federal infrastructure ask, city councillors believe.
 
Council's economic development and planning committee is recommending the full council back an application to the Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Fund, for up to $750,000 toward rehabilitation of the railway tunnel and its north gorge "for the purposes of opening the entire tunnel for public use."
 
The motion refers to a "total estimated project cost" of up to $2.5 million, although both that price tag and the amount granted the city could come in lower.
 
Council is expected to vote on the recommendation Tuesday.
 
The tunnel project beat out work on Rotary Park and the Brock Trail as Brockville's best candidate for a grant application in the eyes of the committee and city staff.
 
Committee chairman councillor Jason Baker said city hall is working on a tight timeline for the application and took a quick look at the available projects.
 
"It sounds like it's a good fit for this type of project," added Baker.
 
Ottawa recently announced the new infrastructure funding program aimed at marking Canada's 150th anniversary in 2017.
 
Staff narrowed the choices to the tunnel application, as well as $600,000 for the expansion of the Brock Trail from Laurier Boulevard to Centennial Road and $550,000 for a roof over the hockey rink at Rotary Park.
 
The railway tunnel is deemed to be Canada's oldest, prompting project enthusiasts to tout its benefits as a tourism attraction.
 
While the numbers are preliminary, the railway project committee's overall vision is of a $4-million plan to turn it into a tourism destination.
 
That includes the immediate work covered in the application, repairs to the masonry, stabilization, drainage, a "travel surface," lighting, ventilation, and "life safety features" in the tunnel, as well as work on the north gorge.
 
Councillor David LeSueur, chairman of the railway tunnel advisory committee, believes an engineering report due in a month or two will peg that cost closer to the initial estimate of $1.8 million.
 
The tunnel committee hopes eventually to have a small tour train taking visitors through the tunnel and to other attractions, a dining car, playground, and visitor centre, as well as a roundhouse at the north portal that could be used as a community centre.
 
None of those features would be covered by the grant.
 
LeSueur would like to see the work cited in the application done, at a minimum, for the 2017 anniversary of Confederation, if not the entire tourism project.
 
"I'd like to see it open 1 Jul 2017 and actually have the prime minister come down and cut the ribbon. I think it's that great," said LeSueur.
 
Council has committed $300,000 toward the railway tunnel over four years starting last year, and has also included the project on its list of capital priorities.
 
The federal infrastructure program will allocate a total of $150 million, to an estimated 1,800 projects, city operations director Conal Cosgrove notes in his report to council.
 
The selected projects must be completed by the end of the 2017 construction season.
 
Cosgrove's report notes the heads of the Brock Trail and Rotary Park committees agree the tunnel work is the best fit for the grant.
 
Brock Trail committee chairman John Taylor said representatives met last week with Cosgrove and agreed the tunnel project has the greatest chance of success for the grant.
 
Success would bring more money into the community than with the other projects, added Taylor.
 
"We've got our fingers crossed and we're rooting for them," said Taylor.

Ronald Zajac.