City Set To Commence Work On Cast Iron And Feeder Main
By Robert Thomas
It looks like another big year of construction when it comes to cast iron water main and feeder main replacement.
And this year, year eight in the replacement program, the majority of the planned work will be well away from the Downtown business core.
In 2023 the City is planning to replace 1.7 kilometres of cast iron water mains.
The cost of the 2023 cast iron water main replacement will be $5.55 million.
The areas where cast iron water mains will be replaced are:
Fairford St. W from 5th Ave. NW to 8th Ave. NW
Duffield St. from Skipton Rd. to 5th Ave. SW
Skipton Rd. from Coteau St. W to Grandview St. W
Scott St. from Coteau St. W to Duffield St.
Map showing locations of cast iron water main replacement (areas in red) for 2023 - City of Moose Jaw map
There will also be the replacement of the sanitary sewer as part of the Fairford Street West portion of cast iron water main replacement.
Service Line Replacement Cautions
There is $800,000 set aside for service line (water and sewer lines from the main lines to the property) replacement.
Property owners electing to replace their service lines then repay the City for the work.
It needs to be noted for all property owners the City’s policy on the service connections replaced is a contract between the property owner and the contractor. The City is not involved other than financing the service connection.
At least one home owner on Keith Street discovered this the hard way when they ended up financially responsible for what they claim was “shoddy work” by the contractor.
The property owner involved advised other property owners to consider hiring an independent third party firm to run an inspection camera of the work to ensure it is done properly.
“In 2022 we saw a jump in uptake and that’s a good thing. It gets old services out of the ground, undersized services, lead, copper is a big part of the program,” city engineer Bevan Harlton told Executive Committee.
The City likes to see service connections, lol replaced at the time that the cast-iron water main is replaced, Harlton said.
He asked that next year the replacement funds set aside for service line replacement be a separate budget line item.
The cast-iron water main replacement program has scheduled a public information for April 12 and affected property owners have been contacted twice by letter to let them know about the project.
Pavement Overlays Delays
Harlton said contractors had requested that the City consider delay milling and pavement overlay repairs until the following year.
The reasons for the request is the amount of settling which occurs following the work.
“We would complete underground in the year and pave that trench so we’re leaving the road paved until the following construction season. At which time would either do the overlay or the gutters and a part of the road need to be mailed down we will do it then,” he said.
The reason for the delay is because in clay soils despite having the correct compaction that expected settlement of soil is 3 cm per meter per year.
The majority of the settlement takes place in the first six months.
The 3 cm drop per metre is based upon proper compaction of the roadway.
He said, in some locations that the settlement of three centimetres per metre was more.
This would result in 3 inch of settlement for a Watermain that is 9 feet deep, Harlton said.
Plastic pipe laid out as part of an earlier phase of the cast iron water main replacement program - MJ Independent file photo
Councillor Heather Eby said she understood the reason for delaying the asphalt overlays for a year because it results in better quality roadways.
“And that is what everybody in Moose Jaw desires,” Councillor Eby said.
Keith Street Bumps
Counsellor Eby made mention of Keith Street where there has been problems with bumps on the roadway following the replacement of cast iron water mains.
She wanted to know if by delaying the milling and paving by a year if it would eliminate bumpy roads that have been associated with other portions of roadways in the replacement program.
“It will certainly help. It could be there are other. with compaction. I know that contract (on Keith Street) was really challenging for Administration as well as Engineering,” Harlton replied.
He said the vast majority of any settlement on a project happens within the first six months.
“The dipping, I’ve seen …should be improved,” Harlton said.
High Street Rollercoaster
“ If we had done this on High Street, and then the paving the next year would we not have a lemonade, the roller coaster we now feeling high Street?” Councillor Eby asked.
“The short answer is no,” Harlton replied chiding his words carefully.
“The settlement that has occurred on High Street is beyond what you would expect to see with proper compaction. That would be, despite the best efforts of the City to get in there and rectify what occurred on High Street.”
Repairs are planned for the roller coaster sections of High Street West this year.
“I can tell council in the 2023 paving program what we will do is turn those dips in high Street from dips will cut them into a consistent grade. Will turn the divot into a clean edge.”
No timeline was given when the High Street pavement repairs will take place. And how long, if necessary, the roadway would have to be closed.
“ The settlement that happened there is beyond what you expect to happen to see.”
On High Street the City of Moose Jaw removed theTheodore based UNGAR Construction from the project.
The City removed Ungar based upon what they said was unsatisfactory work by the contractor.
Ungar disputes the City’s claims. The issue is still in legal discussions as Unger filed a lawsuit against the City to be paid.
As background information Ungar was removed as the contractor and replaced by the city.
The move came at the same time High Street West was named in a Canadian Automobile Association in an online contest as the worst Road in Saskatchewan.
SEE RELATED - Ungar’s Side Of The Issue
To date the only interview to hear Ungar’s side of the dispute was the interview by MJ Independent.
Feeder Main replacement project for 2023 - source City of Moose Jaw
Feeder Main Replacement and Upgrade
At the same time as cast-iron water mains are being replaced there is a separate project in the cities northwest to replace the 16th Avenue NW feeder main.
“This is not a functional place for a waterline it breaks, and it’s a necessary scope of work,” Harlton said about the work.
The estimated cost of the project is $4.765 million.
The project will be completed in two phases.
Phase 1 will be from Grace Street south to Stadacona. Phase 2 will be from Grace Street north to 13th Avenue.
The tender is set to be awarded for Phase One.
Although the feeder main project will cross Thatcher Drive West, the roadway itself will not be closed.
The project calls for a directional drilling to feed the line under the roadway.
“Thatcher could potentially be affected, but it won’t be a closure,” Harlton said.
He said the effected blocks on Caribou Street West will have the same closure as experienced in the cast-iron water main replacement program. Approximately six to eight weeks per block.
The feeder main project will also include moving the line out of tight easements to make it more accessible for repairs if there happens to be a break in the future.
“It puts it in a spot where we have a lot more space to do work (if we need to).”