With the construction season rapidly drawing to a close, the City of Estevan has been wrapping up a couple of major projects and delaying a couple of others to 2012.
Work on the Souris Avenue sewer watermain replacement is getting close to completion while the Rooney Road/Kensington Avenue intersection project is also nearing an end.
However, the City did have to deliver some bad news when it was announced a couple of weeks ago that the Duncan Road rehabilitation and George Street watermain replacement have been pushed back to 2012.
City manager Jim Puffalt said a number of factors conspired to cause the delays. They first had to get the municipal board approval which took over three months to receive. Once they were finally ready to begin work, Estevan, and much of southeast Saskatchewan, was hit by a deluge of rain in June, which caused further delays.
Those delays and the fact that other major projects also were taking place forced the City to move the much-needed work back a year. Puffalt said because they have already received municipal board approval, which is good for two years, they will not have to go through the process again and will be able to start work once the construction season begins in 2012.
"We tried to move quick but it is what it is. Some things are out of our control," said Puffalt who noted the City may look to get municipal board approval one year in advance of the project to avoid any lengthy delays.
"For 2013 projects we'd like to start next year so that way we don't have to worry about any delays or we shouldn't have to worry about any delays."
As for the projects currently underway, Puffalt said the underground connections have been completed on Souris Avenue and crews will begin repairing the road soon.
"We are going to a driving surface for the winter and then finish it off in the spring," said Puffalt who noted the road will only be paved if time allows for it.
"It depends on the weather and how long it takes the base work to be done. We will do something to ensure that there is a driving surface. It may not be pavement, it might be oiled, something that we can drive on and not have great big holes."
Puffalt said the issues that caused the delay of the Duncan Road and George Street work also caused headaches for the Souris Avenue work and led to it being pushed back to the fall. As well, the construction crew was also pulled off the job on a couple of occasions to deal with watermain breaks in other areas of the city. Once the ground was opened, workers also found issues that weren't part of the initial plan.
"It's typical anytime you are doing undergrounds, you are not sure what you are going to find down there. You open the ground and find there is a valve here and something going on over there. It was a little bit more than we thought, for sure."
The status of one other significant project, the paving of the Souris Valley Aquatic and Leisure Centre parking lot remains in the air. The City was hoping to complete the paving this year but the many delays have also placed that in doubt.
"We are going to start some base work this year if it possible and if not, it will be a first thing in the spring job."
