Jonathan Creek culvert installation expected in 2015

Moncton's chief engineer is expecting to have a deal sometime in the new year with Canadian National to fix the Jonathan Creek culvert which has been blamed for the flooding streets and basements in the city over the last 15 years.

Jack MacDonald says a deal with CN is close.

"They had noted that they were trying to push this through to have the memorandum of understanding signed before Christmas, so I'm expecting very early in the new year that we should be getting the document back," he said.

CN spokesperson Jim Feeny agrees.

"CN is in the final internal approval process for a memorandum of understanding between the city and CN that would resolve this issue," he said.

The deal would mean that a new 10-foot diameter culvert would replace the much smaller culvert underneath the CN line next to the Petitcodiac River.

The city has agreed to pay for half of the project — $4 million.

MacDonald says even with a deal, the project must still be approved by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the Department of the Environment.

He says a consultant must also confirm the new culvert will deal with rising sea levels and other issues related to climate change, so work may not start this spring.

"I guess the hope would be that you could," MacDonald said. "But from a practical point of view it may go to 2016."

MacDonald says once work begins, the province has agreed to fix three other culverts along Jonathan Creek that are also too small.