As an urgent repair, the City of Lacombe will be rebuilding a slope near an environmentally sensitive area.
Councillors approved the 50th Ave. (Hwy. 12) slope repair contract at their council meeting this week.
The area located northwest in the city limits, just before the QEII Hwy. interchange, along Crescent Lake, is an environmentally sensitive area.
“It came up unexpectedly due to a blocked catch basin causing erosion down a fairly steep slope on the south side of Hwy. 12,” said Director of Operations and Planning Services Matthew Goudy. “It is what we consider a critical issue if left un-addressed. In the spring it could cause stability concerns for that section of Hwy. 12, which would be a major concern for the City.”
In November of 2015, a resident advised the City roads manager of a possible sloughing issue along the roadway, next to Crescent Lake. After inspection of the site, City staff confirmed a portion of the north slope has sloughed into Crescent Lake. The damage had likely occurred prior to November. A contract was immediately set with Stantec for a detailed design and professional services at a cost of $20,463, funded from the street reserve.
The project was put out to tender earlier this year and closed on Feb. 17th. A total of six bids were received. Council awarded the construction portion of the project to Urban Dirtworks at a cost of $67,392. Stantec Consulting was also awarded the contract at a cost of $29,081 for construction management and post construction services. Parkland Geo was awarded the contract at a cost of $1,160 for geotechnical testing.
Goudy stated the City received good pricing as the project was one of the very first Capital Works projects tendered in the Central Alberta area this year.
“The engineering is a large component of this project, larger than you would typically see on a Capital Works project that the City is undertaking,” he said. “That was due to the environmental concerns of working within the lake. There is a lot of siltation that has eroded into the lake.”
Due to the concerns, stringent reporting and monitoring of the lake will occur before, during and after the project.
“This is highly sensitive work from an environmental standpoint,” he said. “It is also quite difficult work from an actual construction standpoint.”
The total cost of the project is estimated at $118,276, funded from the street reserve.
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