The closure for constructions on Canada Ave has been extended another month.
The project originally slated to close a stretch of the road until August 9th has now been extended until September 4th. It’s while a flood wall is built and a pipe is installed under the road, which will be upgraded upon restoration.
Project and Safety coordinator with Stone Pacific Contracting, Tiffaney Daniels says the extension is needed to get the work done before the rainy season.
“There is running water into that trench where we are building the flood wall and that is ground water that we’re dealing with,” says Daniels. “We’re in drought level five and we still have ground water as soon as we start digging. So we couldn’t do this in the rainy season. It’s not impossible, but the dewatering would be an atrocious cost.”
Daniels says that both lanes are needed to be closed for the duration because of the lack of space for equipment in the corridor.
“We need both lanes to install the pipe,” says Daniels. “We’re putting in water main and sanitary and when we put it in one location, we need to put our other equipment beside it, and that takes both lanes again.”
They’re also replacing putting a base of 2x4x8 Styrofoam blocks, which will actually help the road to float when in flood conditions – something that’s becoming common practice in flood zones. Parts of Cook St. and Quadra St. in Victoria have been built in that way.
She says they are on track to finish by the September 4th deadline. She says that was the original timeframe for the project, but only 45 days were approved by the municipality, who were unsure of what the public response would be to a closure of that magnitude.
“We had to present a schedule to show our plan to complete this work by September 4th when we asked for this extension,” she says.
Daniels says that there are no changes to the general public during the extension, people will be affected by the site as much as they are now. She says they haven’t heard any feedback from the public, which they’re taking as good news.
“We’re keeping that pedestrian pathway maintained, there’s scooters and bikes, people in wheelchairs that go over it constantly,” says Daniels. “It’ll be just like it is now, it’s just going to be that way longer.”
