Road work is well underway in Cranbrook, as a handful of major projects on 8th Avenue South and 8th Street South continue to make progress, while the 2020 Paving Program is set to begin.
On Monday, Cranbrook City Council was provided with an update on the various projects included in the 2020 Capital Works Program, funded from the 1% dedicated road tax and $816,900 from the federal Gas Tax program.
8th Ave S – 3rd to 4th St S
A new watermain has been fully installed on 8th Avenue South between 3rd and 4th Street South, while new water services are currently being hooked up. The City expects the water system will be operational before the end of the week.
Additional upgrades to the storm sewer are also in progress.
Road construction including grading and repaving is expected to begin by mid-June.
8th St S – 3rd to 5th Ave S
The installation of a new watermain is underway for 8th Street South starting from 3rd Avenue South to 5th Avenue South. Construction crews are installing a temporary overhead water system for the time being until the work is complete.
By late June, road construction, grading, and repaving are anticipated to get underway.
“Council and I are very pleased with the Capital Works program this year and how it is being done,” said Mayor Lee Pratt. “I would like to thank all people who are or have been involved, especially the city staff for all their efforts in getting these projects underway. We’re also looking forward to the paving work to get underway too.”
2020 Paving Program
BA Blacktop was awarded the contract for the 2020 Paving Program to the tune of nearly $794,000.
Work is expected to start this week and conclude by early September.
Several streets and avenues are pegged for repaving this year, including the following:
- Birch Drive
- Hamilton Avenue
- Theatre Road (Various Sections)
- Wattsville Road
- 4th Street NW
- 5th Street NW
- Blair Avenue
- 3rd Street South
As the majority of contract tenders and coming withing budget, the City of Cranbrook is looking to review the potential rehabilitation of 12th Avenue South as part of the 2020 program.
The work would see the pulverization or milling of the existing road surface from 13th Street South to 19th Street South, including grading and packing. The City said draining improvements would also be made as an ongoing neighbourhood improvement review is underway for the area.
PRV5 Replacement
The final project as part of the 2020 Capital Works Program is the replacement of the City’s fifth pressure reducing valve (PRV5).
Marwest Industries was awarded the contract through tender for just over $366,000.
An above-ground structure, the PRV5 replacement will be located at 2nd Street South and 27th Avenue South. The new valve will replace the existing infrastructure.
“The PRV replacement project is very important for our ability to safely access, maintain, and operate all parts of our water distribution system,” said Mike Matejka, Manager of Infrastructure Planning and Delivery. “While there will be short-term disruption and road closures, the project will have great long-term benefits.”
Slated to start work in late June, the project should be fully completed by the end of July, resulting in some traffic detours during construction. Additional information will be provided to the public once the project is close to its beginning stages.