Roadwork on Highway 28 is expected to begin right away and will continue for the rest of the year
File Photo
The busiest intersection in town is going to be somewhat
difficult to get around for the next few months as the city undertakes
some necessary construction on the main road through Cold Lake.
Cold Lake City Council approved a major overhaul of Hwy. 28 at its general meeting on June 14. The major project involves twinning Hwy. 28 from 54 Ave. to the southern city limits as well as rebuilding three major intersections and upgrading the utilities buried beneath the road.
“We were thinking we would probably have to scale back the scope, just to bring it into something we could actually get done,” explained Chief Administrative Officer Kevin Nagoya, adding that the total cost of the project included geotechnical engineering and utility relocation. “But the results of the tender were positive, so it looks like, based on the scope of the project, that we're going to be able to rope it all in at around $10.2 million.”
To cover the cost of the construction, council passed a bylaw increasing its 2016 capital budget from around $58.5 million to approximately $59.2 million , increasing its spending for the year by $650,000.
The project was originally pegged at $4.4 million, but as council began to plan the construction work, a number of issues came up that ballooned the estimated cost to $12.5 million.
However, after cost estimates were worked out it was determined that the project was $2 million under the estimated cost, much to the delight of city council.
“This intersection is at the end of its life cycle so we're very happy to get favourable prices for the work,” noted Mayor Craig Copeland.
Nagoya explained that it made more sense to take care of all the issues with the road and its services at once.
“There's synergies to doing underground utilities and such at the same time, so we expanded the project,” noted Nagoya.
Nagoya added that the city wants to get the most difficult part of the construction out of the way first. Consequentially, the overhaul of the intersection at Hwy. 28 and Veteran's Drive is expected to begin immediately.
“We're going to be up to 20,000 vehicles a day on that thing. It's seen its age and is past its lifespan, so it's time to give it an overhaul,” explained Nagoya. “The challenge is that it's one of the busiest intersections in the community. With no pain there's no gain, so we're going to have to close portions of the roadway to get this thing done.”
Nagoya added that the city would do its best to minimize the growing pains, but citizens should expect traffic delays and detours.
Contractors are already preparing to move the shallow utilities of the intersections such as gas, power and phone lines.
“They're sitting in the way right now, we've got to get them out of the way,” noted Nagoya.
The main intersection is expected to be complete by mid-October. The full highway should be done by July 2017, subject to weather conditions over that period. The full construction will stretch along Hwy. 28 from 54 Ave. to 51 St.
Three new signal lights will be added along the way, including a new signal system at the Veteran's Drive intersection.
Cold Lake City Council approved a major overhaul of Hwy. 28 at its general meeting on June 14. The major project involves twinning Hwy. 28 from 54 Ave. to the southern city limits as well as rebuilding three major intersections and upgrading the utilities buried beneath the road.
“We were thinking we would probably have to scale back the scope, just to bring it into something we could actually get done,” explained Chief Administrative Officer Kevin Nagoya, adding that the total cost of the project included geotechnical engineering and utility relocation. “But the results of the tender were positive, so it looks like, based on the scope of the project, that we're going to be able to rope it all in at around $10.2 million.”
To cover the cost of the construction, council passed a bylaw increasing its 2016 capital budget from around $58.5 million to approximately $59.2 million , increasing its spending for the year by $650,000.
The project was originally pegged at $4.4 million, but as council began to plan the construction work, a number of issues came up that ballooned the estimated cost to $12.5 million.
However, after cost estimates were worked out it was determined that the project was $2 million under the estimated cost, much to the delight of city council.
“This intersection is at the end of its life cycle so we're very happy to get favourable prices for the work,” noted Mayor Craig Copeland.
Nagoya explained that it made more sense to take care of all the issues with the road and its services at once.
“There's synergies to doing underground utilities and such at the same time, so we expanded the project,” noted Nagoya.
Nagoya added that the city wants to get the most difficult part of the construction out of the way first. Consequentially, the overhaul of the intersection at Hwy. 28 and Veteran's Drive is expected to begin immediately.
“We're going to be up to 20,000 vehicles a day on that thing. It's seen its age and is past its lifespan, so it's time to give it an overhaul,” explained Nagoya. “The challenge is that it's one of the busiest intersections in the community. With no pain there's no gain, so we're going to have to close portions of the roadway to get this thing done.”
Nagoya added that the city would do its best to minimize the growing pains, but citizens should expect traffic delays and detours.
Contractors are already preparing to move the shallow utilities of the intersections such as gas, power and phone lines.
“They're sitting in the way right now, we've got to get them out of the way,” noted Nagoya.
The main intersection is expected to be complete by mid-October. The full highway should be done by July 2017, subject to weather conditions over that period. The full construction will stretch along Hwy. 28 from 54 Ave. to 51 St.
Three new signal lights will be added along the way, including a new signal system at the Veteran's Drive intersection.
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