Township of Blandford-Blenheim Council awarded the contract for Princeton Phase 5 to Armstrong Paving and Materials Group Ltd. during its regular Council meeting on Wednesday, June 17, 2026.
According to a report submitted by Jim Borton, Director of Public Works, the contract work will include that installation of a signalized cross walk on Main Street at Elgin Street, the top lift of asphalt on all the village roads, the raising of manhole and catch basin structures, and the curbs poured behind the catch basins.
The work represents the final phase of the multi-year Princeton drainage and road reconstruction project.
The project began in 2022 with the expansion of the west pond. In 2023, the east pond was built, and construction on the drain and roads started on the southwest side of the village.
Work continued in 2024 on the north side of the CN rail line, and in 2025, the east side of the village and Main Street were reconstructed, with work concluding the spring.
The tender for Phase 5 was published on May 28, 2026, and the Township received a total of eight bids ranging from $1,091,195.04 and $1,550,185.35 (excluding HST).
Of those bids, staff recommended that Armstrong Paving and Materials Group Ltd. be awarded the contract, as its price was the lowest of the eight.
“Staff were pleased to see that the submissions were all in a, I’d say, fairly tight range,” said CAO Josh Brick, who presented the report on behalf of Borton. “The highest one was $1,550,185; however, the majority of them were in that $1.1-million to $1.2-million range, with us settling on one in just over $1-million.”
According to Borton’s report, staff checked company references and saw Armstrong Paving and Materials Group Ltd. has done similar work for the Municipality of Chatham-Kent, Municipality of Lambton Shores and the Town of Amherstburg.
With $1-million allocated in the 2026 budget including $650,000 from the Township and $350,000 from Oxford County, the project is expected to come in $91,195 over budget.
The report also states that the cost of the signalized pedestrian crossing, estimated at $35,649, is not included in the budget and will be funded by Oxford County.
Speaking to the item, Mayor Mark Peterson said he was pleased with how many bids came in for the project.
“I think it’s nice to see we at least got eight,” he said. “Quite a few of them were within $90,000 of each other, so it’s good to see we’re getting some competitive bids.”
Council then voted in favour of awarding Armstrong Paving and Materials Group Ltd. at the tender price of $1,091,195.04 plus HST.
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
