THUNDER BAY – A rebuild of a section of Balmoral Street tops a list of over $11 million in road and sewer projects approved by city council Monday evening.
Work on the half-kilometre stretch of Balmoral from Hewitson Street to Alloy Drive is expected to cost the city around $5.3 million. The work includes the addition of multi-use trails on both sides of Balmoral and double left turn lanes at the intersection with the Harbour Expressway, along with a protected left turn.
Director of Engineering Kayla Dixon said those steps were intended to improve safety as well as traffic flow at the intersection. While Dixon couldn’t confirm whether the intersection was one of the city’s most dangerous, following an inquiry from Coun. Brian Hamilton, she said there are high rates of collisions along the expressway in general.
Coun. Shelby Ch’ng hoped the work could be expedited, given concerns she’d received from business owners in the area about the impact of construction. Dixon said the city would be meeting with area business owners, along with the contractor, to explore options such as hiring additional staff or extending work hours to conclude the work as quickly as possible.
The work will also include asphalt resurfacing, storm sewer installation, and reconstruction of the Balmoral/Harbour Expressway intersection. Nadin Contracting was awarded the contract after submitting the lowest bid, at around $5.5 million – about $150,000 higher than the city’s pre-tender estimate, but more than $1.4 million lower than the closest bid from its closest competitor.
It’s the second in a multi-phase project to rebuild a larger section of Balmoral. The first phase saw work completed from William to Hewitson in 2016, while further work in 2021 and 2022 are expected to complete the rebuild to Beverly Street.
One lane of traffic is expected to remain open in each direction throughout construction, with any full closures expected to be short-lived.
Other work approved Monday includes road, sewer, and watermain work on Minnesota and Simpson streets, and a variety of smaller sewer and water projects around the city.
A contract for work on Minnesota and Simpson streets was also awarded to Nadin Contracting, who submitted the lowest bid at around $3.5 million. That’s about $30,000 higher than the city’s pre-tender estimate, but more than $200,000 lower than competing bids. After some additional costs and HST rebate, the work is expected to cost the city closer to $3.3 million.
The work includes replacing an 85-year-old watermain and sanitary sewer on Minnesota Street between Pacific and Southern avenues. The city says those lines are experiencing corrosion issues and material failures. Similar work will be done on Simpson between Pacific Avenue and William Street, where the watermain is 110 years old. The sections of both roads will be resurfaced.
That project will also lead to the replacement of numerous lead water connections up to the property line. It is up to homeowners to replace lead pipe on their property. Dixon told councillors the city was taking a more aggressive approach in encouraging homeowners to take that step. Affected residents will be contacted by phone rather than mail by the city.
A program to subsidize costs of replacing lead water pipes for homeowners is also expected to be ready in time for this year’s construction season, city administration reported, though details are not yet available.
Finally, the city approved numerous smaller water and sewer projects throughout the city, in a contract awarded to Menei Bros for around $2.9 million. That came in around $20,000 cheaper than the city’s pre-tender estimate, and about $50,000 lower than the next closest bid. The cost to the city will be around $2.8 million.
The tender includes watermain and storm and sanitary sewer construction on sections of Norah Street, Grey Crescent, Sills Street, Donald Street, and Crawford Avenue. It will eliminate a number of lead service connections up to the property line.
The work also includes storm sewer drainage improvements and road paving on Heath Street near Heath pool. Other drainage, storm sewer, retaining wall, and embankment improvements are scheduled for the Ambrose hill in the Banning Street area.
