Photo by Shaun Penner.

By Shaun Penner

Aquatera

84 Avenue sanitary sewer project won’t finish in 2020; road will be resurfaced for winter

Oct 7, 2020 | 6:25 PM

Aquatera says soil issues are the leading cause of delays in the installation of a sanitary sewer main along 84 Avenue, north of the Westpointe neighbourhood, between 116 and 113 Street.

Engineering Services Manager with Aquatera Ralph Wohlgemuth says the soil in that area is a very dense, hard clay, making it difficult for the auger that was being used to bore into the soil.

He says a larger unit has been brought in to complete work on a manhole over the next few weeks. However, once that is complete, Aquatera will be wrapping things up until the spring of 2021.

“It’s looking positive, at least, that we can get done the work through to the east side of 115 Street before the end of the month, then have all of the road work on 84 (Avenue), to the west… reinstated for the winter season.”

“Then we’ll come back in the spring and re-excavate east of 115 Street and finish the project.”

Wohlgemuth says drivers will not be forced through the single lane construction zone once the work is wrapped up for this year, as he says they will be repaving the entire stretch of the work site for the winter season.

“If the weather allows us to do it, we will put pavement in,” said Wohlgemuth. “Just because that is stronger and will need less maintenance throughout the winter.

“If we have early snow, freeze, wet weather conditions that we can’t actually do asphalt, we’ll put in cold mix, and that will be suitable for the winter.”

Wohlgemuth says when they restart the work in the springtime, they are hoping to have the full project completed by June or July.

The project was started back at the end of May and was originally slated to be completed by August.