BARRHEAD - Town of Barrhead councillors awarded a more than $1.8 million road reconstruction project for 49 A Street to E Construction during the March 12 council meeting.
The work will include the entire reconstruction of 49A Street from 50th Avenue to Highway 33, including new water and sewer main lines along with the distribution lines, replacement of the curbs, gutters, sidewalks, one fire hydrant, plus the installation of a second and resurfacing the road surface with new sub-grade and asphalt material.
Council was initially supposed to award the contract at its Feb. 27 meeting, but administration took the topic off the agenda, citing that the municipality's engineering firm, Associated Engineering, did not have all the information ready for presentation.
Chief administrative officer Edward LeBlanc noted that the 2024 capital budget set aside $2.8 million for the project.
The public agenda package states that funding for the project will come from a combination of government grants: $1,750,000 from the Local Government Fiscal Framework (LGFF) and $1,098,531 from the Canada Community Building Fund, formerly the gas tax.
The municipality received 10 bids ranging from the lowest, $1,812,650, from E Construction to PME Inc. at $2,884,294.
LeBlanc added that after a 10 per cent contingency fund and engineering and geotechnical investigation and consultation fees are included, the total project cost is $2,245,863.
Coun. Don Smith asked for the project's timeline.
LeBlanc said construction could begin as early as the May long weekend, depending on weather, but did not have an estimate for completion.
"[The completion date and the number of construction days] is something [Associated Engineering] will discuss with the contractor," he said.
Coun. Dausen Kluin asked if, as part of the preliminary engineering on the project, there had been any discussions with the Barrhead Clinic in making the building wheelchair accessible. The clinic is at the corner of 49 A Street and 51st Avenue.
"I spoke with our engineers; the building is on private property, and that is something the owner would have to do," LeBlanc replied.
However, he said he would talk to the engineers again, adding that there is potential for a partnership.
"They could approach the clinic and say for X amount of dollars, we could convert the steps into a ramp," LeBlanc said.
Kluin then asked whose responsibility it would be to notify the businesses about the construction and potential timelines.
"The spring and summer are the busiest time of the year for the flower shop [Northern Flora Garden Centre], so the sooner we can let them and the other businesses on the street know about potential disruptions, the better," he said.
LeBlanc agreed and said it would be a joint effort between Associated Engineering and the municipality.
"Now that the tender has been awarded, the engineers can sit down with the construction company and come up with a schedule," he said.
