Nathan VanderKlippe
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Sep 25/02) - Traffic crawled through sections of Old Airport Road or was redirected altogether during emergency sewer work the past few days.

The city is replacing sections of an aging corrugated metal sewage line that services area business like McDonald's and Reddi Mart.

Portions of the 30-centimetre pipe had eroded so much that no bottom was left. The problem caused a sewage backup at the Reddi Mart, prompting the city to contract Volker-Stevin do the emergency repair work.

The cost to fix the line -- about $40,000 -- will come from surpluses in the city's 2002 capital budget. Construction work should be finished today or tomorrow.

City public works manager Dennis Kefalas said the work was done now to save money.

"If it fails in the wintertime it will probably cost us three times as much and take three times as long to do," he said.

Portions of Old Airport Rd. near Franklin Ave. were closed on Saturday, when work began.

One lane had been re-opened in both directions by Sunday afternoon, but traffic was re-routed again on Monday.