Council gets update on construction

FORT FRANCES—Town council received a verbal update from Operations and Facilities manager Doug Brown regarding local construction projects Monday night, which included both good news for north-end residents and word of a delay for the water restriction.
Brown said it’s been a “very productive two weeks” at the Portage Avenue underpass, with all the sheet piling installed on the east side, meaning the road has been reopened to one lane of traffic throughout the day.
It had been closed during daylight hours from Sunday through Friday so crews could remove and then install the sheet piling safely and effectively.
But while it remains open to one lane for the time being, Brown warned Portage Avenue may have to be closed for limited periods of time if sheet piling has to be removed again or soil anchors removed or installed.
Meanwhile, the east retaining wall and foundation has been demolished, and crews have begun installing soil anchors on the abutment wall.
As well, the watermains are back in service on the southeast quadrant.
There was a setback Friday when the sheet piling action moved more than it was designed.
The shoring designer who works with the contractor was on-site Monday to come up with a solution to hold the sheet piling.
On the down side, the non-essential water use restriction, which was supposed to be lifted this week, now will remain in effect into the second or third week of August because the water tower rehabilitation project has fallen behind schedule.
Brown said the contractor lost some time due to poor weather conditions.
Crews cannot work in or on the water tank when lightning is present or a tornado warning is issued, which has occurred in the past weeks.
Another minor delay occurred at the beginning of the project when the town was to turn over a completely empty tank to the contractor.
But there still was three feet of water in the bottom portion of the tank, which had to be pumped into a drain pipe, costing an additional two workdays.
As a result of being eight days behind schedule, Brown said the rehabilitation work won’t be completed until the second or third week of August.
It will be “very weather-dependent as most of the remaining work is on the exterior of the tank.”
“I’m not making excuses, but our weather and our wind has a tremendous bearing on what they can accomplish in one day,” Brown told council.
“Hopefully the weather stays good for the next couple weeks and we can get this water tower back on line,” he added.
The existing water restriction will remain in effect until the water tower is back in service.
< *c>Central Avenue
Brown said work on Central Avenue has entered Phase III. All of the piping and catch basins have been installed in the intersection, all of the concrete and asphalt has been removed, and 90 percent of the granular materials have been installed.
He noted that during the work there, it’s been determined an old sewer line running along Central Avenue has not, in fact, been servicing any properties at all.
As such, the line will not be replaced, and the town will be spared the cost of 40 feet of pipe and one manhole.
The public can expect to see curb and gutter concrete work done at Central Avenue by the third week of August, with pavement going down the first week of September.
In other news, Brown said the roof of the water treatment plant has been replaced but the town hasn’t paid for it yet. They are waiting “for a good rainstorm” to see if there are leaks.
“It leaked for 23 years. We don’t want to let the money go out the door until we know the roof doesn’t leak,” he stressed.
As well, the new recycling building at the Public Works yard is completed, with the first load of recyclables having been dropped there July 17.
(Fort Frances Times)