By Keith McNeill
There’s going to be plenty of construction happening in the Weyerhaeuser subdivision/Park Drive area of Clearwater over the next few months.
On Tuesday, June 6, town council approved awarding a $205,000 contract to Borrow Enterprises to replace part of the Robson Street sewer, install a storm drainage system for Robson Street, and relocate the Park Drive water-main.
Council also approved a $280,000 contract to Borrow to construct a multi-use pathway along Park Drive from the hospital to near the Buy-Low shopping centre.
A video inspection done in 2015 revealed that 65 metres of the sewer at the east end of Robson Street had several collapsed sections that had been previously repaired by placing culvert over the pipe, Terry Underwood, the municipality’s engineer said in a report to council.
Several areas of ponding and sediment accumulations were also identified.
Construction complications include excessive depth (up to six metres) plus the need to maintain sewer service during repairs.
The approval of a 26-unit affordable housing apartment building to be constructed next to Park Drive, “upstream” from the problem section, increased the priority of the reconstruction project.
An intense rainfall event during the summer of 2016 resulted in significant flooding along Robson Street. Proposed curbing along Park Drive, as well as the paved multi-use path, are expected to potentially add even more water in a future event.
The proposed storm drain system would include a catch basin assembly, storm sewer and an infiltration basin.
The relocation of the water main along Park Drive would enable the water and sewer pipes to be crossed by Kinder Morgan in one boring operation. The pipeline company has agreed tentatively to pay for its share but needs final approval from its board of directors. The water main relocation is a deletable item in the contract should Kinder Morgan not provide funding.
Multi-use path contract approved
The multi-use path would consist of 190 m of concrete barrier curb and 2.0 to 2.4 m wide asphalt path from Robson Street to the intersection of Helmcken and Murtle Crescent, 115 m of barrier curb and a 2.0 m wide asphalt path along Park Drive from Murtle Crescent to the existing sidewalk in the roundabout, 1,250 m of paved pathway along the south side of Park Drive from Robson Street to Evergreen Place, and 160 m of 2.0 m wide asphalt path from Evergreen Place to the hospital driveway.
The project also would include modest drainage improvements.
The multi-use path project is to be completed by mid-September, said chief administrative officer Leslie Groulx.