SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Seven city streets are up for rejuvenation this summer as part of the city's 2013 paving program.
The stretches of road slated for either paving or reconstruction are on Deh Cho Boulevard, Ingraham Drive, Raccine Road, Doornbos Lane, Byrne Road, and Matonabee Street.
NWT Construction Ltd. was the only company to submit a bid on the tendered project and was granted the $5.7 million contract, including GST, during a city council meeting on Monday night.
Mayor Mark Heyck said the city has worked with NWT Construction Ltd. on similar projects in the past.
Most sections of road will be removed and repaved, but work on Deh Cho Boulevard will be more extensive, said Chris Greencorn, acting director of public works and engineering.
Greencorn said Deh Cho Boulevard will be rebuilt from the ground up, with installation of structural materials to better protect the road from the effects of settling, which has made the road bumpy.
Heyck said the city will be finalizing a schedule with NWT Construction Ltd. over the next few weeks, and time is ticking on Yellowknife's construction season.
"(The 2013 paving program) is more work than we typically schedule in a construction season so we'd like to start it sooner rather than later," said Heyck. "The weather, of course, affects how quickly we can move on."
The city voted last year to borrow $20 million to pay for a new water treatment facility and related infrastructure, which is expected to go to tender this summer.
The borrowed money freed up capital within the city's budget to spend on projects such as the repaving program, said Heyck.
"Over the past several years we've set aside capital infrastructure funding for the purpose of building our new water treatment plant and so we borrowed the money to free up those funds," he said.
"The additional resources that we were able to put into paving and water and sewer this year is basically the funding that was freed up from what we had set aside for the water treatment plant," Heyck said.
2013 paving program
Paving program estimates:
Company with GST (without GST)
- NWT Construction Ltd. $5.7 mil ($5.4 mil)
- Engineer's estimate $5.6 mil ($5.3 mil)
The program will include reconstruction or paving of the following streets:
- Deh Cho Boulevard, from Kam Lake Road to Utsingi Drive;
- Morrison Drive, from Lessard Drive to Sikyea Tili;
- Ingraham Drive, Raccine Road, and Doornbos Lane;
- Byrne Road, from Old Airport Road to Woolgar Avenue;
- Matonabee Street, from Franklin Avenue to the McMahon Frame Lake Trail.
Source: City of Yellowknife
