City hall plans to fix over 5,000 metres of roads and sidewalks this year, a combination it believes offers savings, efficiencies in project management and better co-ordination of work.
That plan is similar to this year’s joint replacement of cast iron pipes and feeder mains on 16th Avenue.
The engineering department will spend $5,918,600 this year to address roads, sidewalks, curbs and gutters and other transportation-related issues, and over $44 million during the next five years.
The five-year paving budget is pegged at $13,250,000. However, because the Thunderbird Viaduct rehabilitation project is consuming most of the transportation capital budget, city hall will reduce that five-year budget to $8.25 million.
“(The) city has been unsuccessful to this point in obtaining a financial commitment from CP Rail despite a documented historic obligation,” a city council report said. “The scope of the work provides for reconstruction to occur from the deck’s surface, allowing for the continued and uninterrupted operations of CP Rail.
“If financial contributions are not secured from CP Rail, more extensive work, including the possible replacement, will be required in the near future.”
The report showed that from 2016 to 2022, city hall repaired 57.74 kilometres of roads.
Road locations
Bevan Harlton, director of engineering, presented the report during council’s April 24 executive committee meeting. The document showed that his department expects to address 5,374 metres of streets and sidewalks this year.
Roads to be paved/fixed include:
- 510 metres of Athabasca Street West
- 300 metres of Ross Street East
- 465 metres of Caribou Street West
- 440 metres of Avens Road
- 185 metres of Fourth Avenue NW
- 90 metres of the Main Street and Thatcher Drive intersection
- 235 metres of Brigham Road
- 1,000 metres on High Street from Second to Ninth avenues; dips will be cut out and filled with asphalt so the road is driveable
Locations for cast iron pipe replacement include:
- 1,135 metres along Duffield Street, Skipton Road and Scott Street
- 530 metres on Fairford Street West
Locations for feeder main replacement include:
- 244 metres on Grace Street
- 330 metres on 16th Avenue
Several paving locations require extensive sidewalk replacement, which means the engineering department is transferring $150,000 from the paving budget to the sidewalks, gutters and curbs budget, Harlton said.
Council comments
Coun. Jamey Logan was pleased that city hall was combining the repair of sidewalk ramps with road upgrades, saying the special needs advisory committee would also be happy.
One road that “is in really horrible shape” annually and not on the list is 13th Avenue Northwest from around Gordon Road south to Caribou Street West, said Coun. Dawn Luhning. The city repaves that road regularly, but this year is the worst she’s seen. She wanted to know where that street fit into city hall’s plans.
Harlton said he would have to investigate and provide a written response. However, in general, locations with old cast iron pipes manifest their condition through poor road quality, which is why some roads are continually patched.
Mayor Clive Tolley said he has long advocated for completely replacing sidewalks, curbs and gutters instead of repairing them. He wondered what standard the engineering department used to repair or replace this infrastructure.
The city identifies sidewalks with the most deficiencies — usually because of recent service repairs — and replaces them, said Harlton. It also pulls gutters and sidewalks if those change when roads are upgraded. So, it will replace the sidewalks on 300-block Athabasca Street because of the concrete’s age.
“I’d like to see us … do a whole block at a time. But this is going to be a significant improvement on Athabasca Street West,” said Tolley.
Road conditions
Harlton’s report showed 84 streets where the city plans to replace either cast iron or feeder main pipes within five years. Those locations had a pavement condition rating (PCR) and a target PCR, which the department uses to guide its paving activities.
“If the public perception is that road’s in poor shape, we will find that those locations are reflected in these condition assessments,” he said.
The engineering director singled out several roads because of the differences between their actual and target PCR numbers.
Specific streets
Ninth Avenue Northwest from High Street to Fairford Street and from Fairford to Ominica have PCR ratings of four versus a target of eight. City hall plans to replace the cast iron pipes there next year.
Main Street from Manitoba Street to River Street — it has no PCR rating versus a target of eight — has a water main and cast iron that need replacing, said Harlton. However, he is holding off on that project until the transportation master plan is done.
The four blocks on Coteau Street West from 12th Avenue Southwest to Ninth Avenue Southwest have ratings of four and targets of seven. The department will replace feeder mains there once it’s finished on 16th Avenue.
“It’s important to have an understanding of this infrastructure beneath the road before we invest in the road,” Harlton added.
Darrin Stephanson, director of public works, said city hall cannot resurface the Fourth Avenue bridge because it cannot put heavy equipment on there due to weight restrictions. Instead, it can only make pothole repairs with cold and hot asphalt mixes.
A full rehabilitation will increase weight capacity, he added.
“I get a lot of complaints about that bridge,” said Coun. Crystal Froese. “That’s a good piece of information.”
The next regular council meeting is Monday, May 8.
