Operations and Facilities manager Doug Brown gave updates on the five major construction projects currently underway in town during Monday night’s council meeting.
“There’s lots of activity going on from a construction point of view and a capital point of view,” noted Brown. “There are five major jobs that are taking place right now.”
Updates are slated to occur every month until the jobs are completed in order to keep tabs on their progress, as well as keep the public informed on where certain projects stand.
The water tower project started June 5 and has been worked on for 18 days now, with six people working 12 hours a day, seven days a week.
The interior of the tower has been sandblasted and prepping has begun to paint it. About 40 percent of the exterior has been power-washed.
“You can see an improvement in the colour,” Brown remarked.
The contractor, Norwick out of King’s City, Ont., has until Aug. 5 to complete the job.
Meanwhile, the second phase of Central Avenue has progressed. Work there began May 24, with crew working 10 days on followed by four days off.
“All of the storm sewers and catch basins in there are in place,” noted Brown. “We’re on schedule there.
“We’re going to be flipping the road on Wednesday, July 2 for all the U.S. traffic that’s [currently] going down Mowat,” he added.
The watermain being replaced there was installed back in 1913. The pipe had become so rotten that the soil has had to hold it together.
“I don’t think everything lasts for 100 years,” Brown quipped.
Over at the water treatment plant, the block work that needed to be fixed has been completed, as has 75 percent of the upper roof. Lakehead Roofing is the contractor in charge of this project and they expect the work to be finished by July 9.
The recycling transfer system is another project the town has been working on this year. The existing building will be extended by 12 feet, which will allow the town to own the building as opposed to renting it.
Select Construction of Emo was awarded the tender. The concrete foundation has begun to be poured and roof trusses installed, and they will be pouring the slab by the end of the week.
The deadline for completion has been extended to July 19.
Finally, at the underpass, two of the eight panels have been pulled and the west side sidewalk temporary installed. Only six sheet piles have been installed because the vibratory head on a piece of equipment needs replacing.
The shoring designer didn’t design the sheet piles long enough, so they have to be welded.
Brown conceded construction hasn’t been going great at the underpass because of the equipment malfunction and the project currently is behind schedule.
“I’ve had the opportunity to visit the sites with Doug and, for the most part, I’ve seen that most of the projects are preceding on schedule,” said Fort Frances CAO Mark McCaig.
“Any problems that they’ve had have been legitimized or explained,” he added.
McCaig also wanted to note the infrastructure problems that were brought to light early last week after sinkholes appeared on Second Street East related to the sewer system.
“We’re talking about substantially aged and deteriorating infrastructure and we’re doing our best to get on it,” he stressed. “In Fort Frances, if there isn’t a project like this going on, it’s not necessarily a good year, actually it’s a bad year.”
McCaig believes construction and updates to infrastructure are positive because it shows the town has the means in its capital budget to do the work.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
