Contaminated and soft soil has increased the cost of the third and final phase of the Ewen Avenue project by $5.3 million to nearly $13 million.
That’s if the city can find someone to do the job.
According to a report presented at a council meeting held at the Queensborough Community Centre on Monday, the first two phases of the project, planning of which dates back to 2011, had some challenges. So the city decided to do some geotechnical testing for the final 800 metres from Hampton Street to Boundary Road. It showed the soil was so poor the peat would have to be removed and replaced with specialized lightweight fill.
Also adding to the cost is putting electrical and telecommunication utilities underground.
All that jumped the estimated price tag by $5.3 million to $12.8 million.
“You do need to do it right. The geotechnical results did show it needed a more substantial base, which, unfortunately, has a pretty significant budget implication,” said Mayor Jonathan Cote after the meeting.
The test results prompted the city to divide the final phase in two. First up was supposed be replacing twin culverts at Boundary and Ewen. That work will be complex and requires a lot of preloading. A tender was put out for the replacement in June, but no bids were received because construction companies in the region are already swamped with work.
So that part was consolidated back into the road construction part of the third phase and put out to tender on Aug. 25, with a closing date of Sept. 20. The report said changes were made to the design and a flexible start date was proposed in an effort to attract more bidders and reduce cost. The tender, however, does stipulate the project must reach substantial completion by Oct. 31, 2018.
“I’m a little disappointed we could not get a tender for the next phase of it. What worries me is there’s so much construction going on. Even if we did get a bid, it would be so high because it’s a really bad time to bid when everybody is swamped. I’m worried we’re going to get a bid that’s basically a take-it-or-go-away type of bid,” said Coun. Chuck Puchmayr during the meeting.
His concern has him wondering if New West should have its own paving company similar to the City of Vancouver.
“There might be some efficiencies there, especially when some of the bids come in really high when they know there’s no one else to bid,” said Puchmayr.
Planning for the Ewen Avenue improvement project began in 2011 with the first phase from Furness Street to Derwent Way, about 550 metres, carried out in 2013/14 at a cost of $3 million. The second phase, from Derwent to Hampton Street, 1,250 metres, was done over the following three years. Its cost is $18 million. Final paving has just been completed, but there’s still some lines to be painted and last-minute details to be completed.
“This is one of the most challenging projects the city has faced over the last number of years, but I think this council has recognized the important role Ewen plays as a main street through the district and the previous configuration had some serious shortcomings,” Cote told the group.
Engineering technician Stacey Neves, the report’s author, said the city would be contacting development construction companies working in the area to coordinate traffic control in an effort to avoid some of the delays encountered during the first two phases.
In addition to 800 metres of new asphalt, the project includes full-ditch enclosures, a multi-use pathway, a new sidewalk, 36 new street lights, 105 new trees, 900 metres of sewer main and a reconfiguration of the intersection at Ewen and Boundary.
