THUNDER BAY – Repairs to a collapsed culvert that has closed River Street for months are expected to cost in the area of $1.6 to $2.5 million.
A large sinkhole developed on River Street on May 5 after multiple sections of a 15-foot-wide culvert that carries the waters of McVicar Creek beneath River Street failed.
City officials initially said it would take at least two weeks to reopen the four-lane artery, but inspections showed more complex repairs would be needed. City staff now says they're hopeful the work will be completed this year.
Staff will request the city allocate up to $2.5 million for the project at a city council meeting on Monday, allowing the city to purchase some supplies in advance as it puts a contract for the work to tender.
The $1.6 to $2.5 million range for the work is a rough preliminary estimate that will be firmed up after the city receives bids for the work.
“We still have to get detailed design and some drawings completed, [which] will likely go through a tender process,” said Mike Vogrig, project engineer with the city. “But in the meantime, since the timeline’s so short, if we want to get the road back open this year, there will have to be some pre-purchasing of materials.”
“If we waited through the whole tender process, you just lose a lot of time, because then the contractor has to order it once the contract’s awarded.”
If that request is approved Monday, the city will proceed to detailed design work before going to tender, and begin ordering some materials such as pipe to line the collapsed culvert.
Vogrig said staff are optimistic the city won’t have to use the full $2.5 million for the job, something that will be confirmed in the coming weeks as more inspections are conducted.
“That’s the worst potential scenario if we’re looking at a situation where we might have to replace the whole culvert system,” said Vogrig. “That doesn’t look to be the case at this point in time.”
That will depend in part on the condition of a second culvert beside the one that failed, which is set for more detailed inspections in the coming weeks, now that water levels have declined, Vogrig said.
