Last year's super-size roads project was the overhaul of McConnell Ave. in the horseshoe. This year it's the Graham Ave. rebuild on the south side which is now underway for completion by early September.
The Graham project has come in over budget as did McConnell did last year, however by a significantly smaller margin because of a more competitive bidding pool.
Director of public works Rob Schibli told city council he was happy to have received three bids on the project and council accepted the recommendation to award the contract to the lowest bidder, which was Bear Creek Contracting at $1,474,099.75. This was $50,000 more than the city had provided in their preliminary budget for the project, but was much tighter that the McConnel project which last year ballooned in cost by several hundred thousand dollars.
The other two bids came in from Billabong Road and Bridge Maintenance for $1,558,815.00 and from BEL Contracting Ltd. for $1,729,720.
The total cost is projected at $1,923,000 which includes the bid contract as well as city works and materials, paving and five per cent contingency and engineering costs.
The city will be also installing water and sewer laterals to be used if future properties are subdivided along Graham. These are going to be installed on the south side of Graham Ave. east of Eby at a cost of $50,000, said Schibli.
The repave is a 840 metre stretch of Graham Ave. from Eby Street to Kalum Street.
It is full road construction which includes “base gravels, new water mains and services, storm drainage mains and catch basins, road and sidewalk paving,” said Schibli.