Motorists will have to detour around Highway 39 going through Weyburn in the first week of March, as two large culverts will be replaced under the highway in an emergency repair approved by city council on Monday evening.
A 450-millimetre storm sewer located west of the intersection of Highway 39 and Third Street was identified in 2016 as in need of repairs. The culvert began to fail under the highway’s median, causing a void on the road surface.
A temporary repair was done, and after an inspection was done of the culvert, it was determined that a 21-metre portion of the culvert under the westbound lanes of Highway 39 were needed.
In addition, the Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure determined that the culvert located between Government Road and Third Street under Highway 39 also needs repairs due to damages to the culvert. This arch culvert measures 2300 mm by 600 mm, and is located under the northern embankment of Highway 39.
Mayor Marcel Roy asked what effect these repairs will have on traffic, and was told by city engineer Nader Keshta the north-south roads of Third Street and Government Road will not need to be closed, but the portion of Highway 39 between those roads will be, and detours will be set up while the repairs are being made.
He said the repairs should only take about one week to complete, or at the most two weeks.
Seven contractors responded to the tender notice, and council approved the lowest tender from NT Excavating of Weyburn for $31,738.
The nearest two bids were from A&B Concrete at $40,932, and Swayze Concrete at $59,927. The highest bid was for $149,237.
Coun. Dick Michel noted the substantial price differences, and asked if the owner-operator of NT Excavating, Nick Tuchscherer, is aware of what is required for this contract. Keshta assured him that he was contacted and is aware of what is needed for the repairs.
The culvert replacements must be completed by March 31 to comply with terms of the Aquatic Habitat Protection Permit issued to enable the repairs to go ahead by the City of Weyburn.
Council passed an electrical and instrumentation tender for the city’s reservoir project that had been put off at the previous council meeting held on Jan. 22, after councillors raised concerns that no local electrical contractors were invited to submit a tender bid.
The primary contractor for the reservoir project, Westridge Construction Ltd., had added the tender for this work as it was not originally included in Contract 2.
The approved amount totals $2,039,670, and will add an estimated two months to the timeline of this major project. The completion date will now be around March 15, 2019. Two of the firms invited by Westridge are from Saskatoon and one is from Regina, with no local contractors invited to submit a bid.
This was questioned, as it was noted there are local contractors who do complex electrical and instrumentation work for the oil patch in the southeast region.
Engineer Keshta said he and city manager Roy Hardy had a meeting with Westridge and with AECOM, the project managers, and they provided information that confirms the contractor’s original request.
Coun. Mel Van Betuw asked if the project will still be within budget parameters, and Keshta said the city is still within the budget for the project.
City council passed its long-awaited Off-Site Development Levy bylaw at Monday’s council meeting, after they had approved the fees for the levy at the Jan. 22 council meeting.
The bylaw now comprehensively covers any new building or development that is to be built in the city of Weyburn, with the subdivision servicing fee set at $188,825 per net hectare, or $76,440 per net acre.
Coun. Jeff Richards thanked administration for working through this process in fine-tuning the adjustments to the levy, including the per-square-foot charge for changes to existing buildings.
