WESTLOCK – Town of Westlock brass will meet this coming week with the contractor handling the two-year, $7.3-million 108th Street reconstruction project to determine whether it can be done before the snow flies, or if it needs to be pushed back to a 2022 completion date.
Town of Westlock operations director Robin Benoit told councillors Aug. 16 that supply-chain issues are just the latest hurdle for contractor Knelsen Sand & Gravel, who started work on the project April 6.
In the spring it was hoped the rebuild, which includes a fresh asphalt overlay, new curbs, gutters and sidewalks, as well as a new storm sewer line, sanitary sewer line and sanitary water line, could be done by the fall, but since there’s been a slew of obstacles.
“They are severely challenged with supply-chain issues. They can’t buy copper pipe anymore. So for service lines, what they have is what they have. If anything changes we’re going to be in trouble there,” said Benoit, who noted just that just day they ran into a service connection issue and will have to make do as the proper couplers have to be brought in from out of province.
“Manholes we can get, but trying to get pipe is tough and we’re trying to make do with what we have — there’s about a two-month (wait) on them. Concrete powder is another challenge. The contractor needs about 60 cubes a day when they get going, but the concrete supplier can only guarantee them 30 cubes. So that could be adding some time to the overall project.
“We’ve put a certain amount (of infrastructure) into the ground and now we’re seeing how much we really need certain materials and now to get those (materials) is becoming the challenge.”
In addition to the supply-chain shortages, there was the discovery of hydrocarbon containment from an old adjacent Imperial Oil fuel site, plus issues surrounding “as built” drawings that didn’t correspond with what’s actually underground. To deal with the “heavy concentrations of hydrocarbons”, tons of contaminated soil had to be trucked away, while a plastic liner was installed underground to contain any possible further seepage — an initial estimate for the clean-up work, which Imperial will be paying for, was pegged at $1.6 million. Work on that side project started at the end of May and wrapped before July 1.
“And we’ve found lots that are serviced on 108th that should have been on the avenue. Those are just some of the surprises we’ve found along the way,” said Benoit about the variety of issues they’ve faced. “But construction-wise we’re still really good in terms of budget and there’s been some opportunities for some saving, too.”
As for current progress, Benoit said they’ve made it to 100th Avenue, with the underground work was scheduled to go beyond, but need to set reasonable goals for completion.
“We have to have that conversation on how far we’re comfortable going. To go all the way we run the risk of having gravel through the winter and that could become a real problem in the spring,” Benoit continued. “If we find a comfortable place to stop for this year and get the road surface back and then come back in the new year and finish off the project that might be an option.
“We might get lucky with the weather, but we have to make the logical decision on where to saw it off for this year based on what the average year would be for weather. Base gravel in the spring is an awful mess and I’ve been through that once before and I prefer not to go through it again. It becomes impassable.”
For council, the possibility of the project running into 2022 is a disappointment, but not a shock as they were prepared to see it spread over two years.
“When we first talked about this it was originally intended to run over two years and the contractor thought they get it in a year if everything went well. But I don’t think it should be a surprise to anyone that the supply chain is the biggest issue post-COVID,” said mayor Ralph Leriger.
“I know there’s been comments and concerns expressed from the general public on that there should have been better planning. But these things were predicted and predictable so maybe it’s about communicating and maybe we need to think about telling the story so people understand. Even as a regular consumers, we’re all seeing supply chain issues.”
Temporary bulk water station opens
The temporary bulk water station opened Aug. 19 at the town’s public works shop and will remain open until the permanent facility, which is located on 108th Street, reopens in November.
In an Aug. 6 news release, CAO Simone Wiley said the shuttering of the water station was initially expected to be short “so this shift from hours to months is disappointing.” The closure was blamed on “as-built” drawings not corresponding to what was actually underground on 108th Street.
Located at 9632-110A Street, the new fill station at the public work shop only has an electronic pay feature so no coins will be accepted. Folks needing bulk water can also use the facilities in the hamlets of Vimy and Dapp.
Benoit told council that they’re doing their best with the temporary fill station and users should know it’ll probably take longer to fill their tanks.
“B Trains will take a lot longer to fill. We have a three-inch line at the bulk water station currently but we’ll going to a two-inch at the public works shop. They’ll still be able to pull in. It’ll take a bit more time,” he said.
