Paul Bickford
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Oct 03/05) - Two swimming pools under construction in the South Slave - one in Hay River and the other in Fort Smith - have run into construction delays.

In Hay River, the new $6.8 million aquatic centre was expected to be open by late September or early October.

"That's not going to take place at this point," says Ross deBoer, the town's director of recreation and community services.

Construction, which began in August 2004, is now expected to be completed by the end of the year.

"It's a big project," deBoer says. "Often, these projects don't go as planned."

The delay has largely been caused by time-consuming concrete pouring. There is still one pour remaining for a ramp leading into the pool.

That has to be done before some mechanical work and tiling can proceed.

"We're not way off track," deBoer says.

The pool is not over budget, he adds, noting it is $140,000 into its $200,000 contingency. "We're very pleased with the whole budgeting process."

Jack Rowe, the president of main contractor Rowe's Construction, says a shortage of workers - heavy equipment operators, carpenters and other tradespeople - also contributed to the delay, although it was not the primary factor.

"I wouldn't say it's a surprise we're short of a qualified labour pool. It's reality," Rowe says, noting that is a problem throughout the North.

The pool will be filled with water by mid-October to ensure the concrete is not porous, deBoer says.

In Fort Smith, the late arrival of a steel pool has delayed the overall $4.5 million project.

Mayor Peter Martselos says the $700,000 steel pool, which was shipped from Italy, has now arrived. It was held up for two or three weeks by a strike on the Vancouver waterfront, which caused the shipment to be rerouted to Seattle, which meant more rigorous inspections of containers entering North America since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

"In construction, you get those kinds of things," Martselos says of the delay.

The steel pool, which will sit on a concrete foundation, will likely be installed early this week.

Martselos says the overall project is still on budget and there is no shortage of qualified workers. "Our pool is full steam ahead."

Construction began in June and completion was originally expected by mid-January. The target is now February or March.