The District of Sechelt has chosen a contractor to handle the Wakefield Road culvert replacement and approved an additional $300,000 of funding from the Growing Communities Fund to cover unforeseen costs.
Kirn Dhillon, Sechelt director of engineering and operations, introduced the request by saying to buffer against any risk on the project, the district should “top up the contingency,” asking for additional funding.
Serge Fjetland, AScT, engineering technologist explained, during the installation of an earlier sewer program, they installed a sewer line through this area, and noticed the asphalt was up to 600 millimetres thick. “This was indicative of a problem with the culvert beneath,” Fjetland said. “During the investigation, we found Wakefield culvert was significantly damaged, being more O-shaped, no longer in alignment and damage to the top of the pipe.”
He added if the pipe failed if would create a dam and threaten downstream properties.
After putting the project out to tender, the district received five competitive bids, the lowest of which came in at $864,367 from NB Contracting Ltd – almost $300,000 lower than the next-closest bid.
Fjetland explained that even with this lowest tender the project budget exceeds the available funds. Accordingly, staff are requesting an additional $300,000 to balance the budget and to top up the 25 per cent contingency for unforeseen costs that come from the excavation.
Construction is expected to run from late August to October with culvert work being prioritized during the dry season – with the project concluding in late fall or early winter.
Coun. Darren Inkster spoke in support of the request and added that if all goes well the district could see the majority of the extra funding unused.
While Dhillon agreed he doesn’t anticipate they will use most of the funding, he added, “But as experience showed on Inlet, it's always good to have contingency when you have unknowns in the ground like there could be a buried log several feet down that you know, is hard to catch in a borehole drilling program.”
Noting that the new culvert is concrete rather than steel, Coun. Alton Toth asked how long the new culvert is expected to last.
Dhillon answered that the concrete culvert is expected to last 50 years, up from the 30-year expectancy of using steel. Another benefit of using concrete is the culvert can be relined to make it last longer, he added.
The additional funding and contract award were unanimously approved by council.
Jordan Copp is the Coast Reporter’s civic and Indigenous affairs reporter. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.
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