Town council has given the green light for the reconstruction of 1,400 metres of the northeast trunk main, one of the municipality's three main sanitary sewer lines.
The project will start this year and is expected to take 12 weeks to complete. The cost will be about $2 million. The majority of the price tag will be funded through a combination of provincial Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI) funds, a Build Canada grant and town reserves.
The infrastructure project for the 40-year-old line – the municipality's oldest of three main sanitary sewer mains -- has been a priority for the town since 2013 when it adopted a Master Servicing Concept to look into long- term infrastructure improvements deemed necessary to accommodate future growth, particularly in the northeast part of town. The study noted there was a need to increase the main's capacity from a 300-millimetre diameter line to one that measures 450 millimetres.
As well, the town investigated the condition of the northeast trunk main in 2015, following a manhole collapse the year before, and discovered cracks in the line that were allowing groundwater to seep into the pipes.
Most of the reconstruction work, which was officially approved by town council at its Jan. 11 regular meeting, will be placed close to the existing main line and following the Canadian Pacific Rail (CPR) line from the intersection of 53 and 48 streets to the north end of the town yard. Council was told the precise alignment through CPR lands in the north end is subject to approval from the rail company.
The total work will also include two smaller projects. There will be a 90-metre extension of a forcemain in the town yard to connect to the Woodlands area, and repairs to the sanitary main at the intersection of 56 Street and 50 Avenue. The total cost for the two smaller projects is about $110,000.
Craig Teal, the town's director of planning and operational services, told council all three projects require the same skill sets from the contractor and combining them may result in a more beneficial price for the town.
Council was also told the project will result in some minor traffic disruption at 53 and 42 streets. However, the main impact will be on a 350-metre long belt of three rows of trees south of 42 Street, just east of the Westwood Court Mobile Home Park. Teal noted the east row will have to be removed to create space for construction.
His report to council said a trench in the area will have to be reinforced with a cage to avoid disturbances into the root areas of the middle and west line of trees. However, he conceded there might be disturbances to those trees, which could create “gaps” in both lines. Teal said the area will be re-evaluated after construction for the possibility of planting replacement trees.
The next step for the project is to begin the contract tendering process, which will be awarded by council at its Feb. 22 regular meeting.
After the contract is awarded, the scheduling to complete the project will be worked out. Teal said while the dates to begin and finish the northeast trunk main during the 2016 construction season are flexible, there is a timing restriction for the 56 Street intersection as it must be scheduled around planned traffic counts.
