Council approves contracts for major storm sewer rehabilitation project

An important infrastructure project to replace an old storm sewer main on Swift Current’s south side will be carried out during the upcoming construction season.

Councillors approved the construction contract and a change to the scope of the construction management contract for the Friesen Street storm rehabilitation project during a regular council meeting via video conference, Dec. 14.

The initial phase of this storm sewer main project was carried out a few years ago, but continuation of the second phase of the rehabilitation work was deferred several times due to cost. Grant funding from the provincial government’s Municipal Economic Enhancement Program (MEEP) will make it possible to proceed with the work.

“We're very fortunate to receive MEEP funding for this project,” Councillor Ryan Plewis said during the meeting. “It saves the residents of the City of Swift Current about $2.3 million. So that's certainly a very nice thing to have received. When you're on City council and sitting around a budget table, it makes these decisions a little bit easier, but certainly this is a project that needs to get done. As the report says, we've got infrastructure in the ground that's about 60 years old.”

The report by City General Manager of Infrastructure and Operations Mitch Minken provided a clear indication of the urgency of this project. He noted during his presentation that the current storm sewer main in Friesen Street from 3rd Avenue SE to Riverside Park is an undersized corrugated steel pipe, which has reached the end of its serviceable life.

“A camera inspection of this area has confirmed that sections of the network have corroded, leaving holes in the bottom of the pipe,” he said. “Furthermore, the existing storm sewer system is located partially within residential yards, thereby creating a risk for settlements on private property if a failure occurs.”

Old City records do not provide any clear explanation for the location of portions of the storm sewer main on private property, and this complicates the situation.

“Portions of the network are not legally accessible by means of a public utility right-of-way, and in some instances are in proximity of homes and garage pads,” he said. “A failure in this storm line has potential to impact up to eight blocks of homes.”

The first phase of the rehabilitation project was completed in 2013. It included the replacement of 160 metres of corrugated steel pipe with a larger diameter high density polyethylene pipe through the Riverside Park parking lot.

The engineering firm WSP completed detailed design for the second phase of the project in 2017. It involves the replacement of approximately 650 metres of undersized corrugated steel pipe with larger diameter PVC pipe through public right-of-way on Friesen Street and 6th Avenue SE, and the installation of 16 new catch basins in intersections, lanes and midblock low points. The sections of the storm sewer main on private property will be rerouted to the public right-of-way on Friesen Street.

“The increased pipe size will improve drainage in the Friesen Street area,” Minken said. “Rerouting the pipe in the public road right-of-way will eliminate the risk of pipe failures in private properties and allow access for future repair and maintenance.”

The old storm main on private properties will be decommissioned to prevent any future risk to property owners. These pipes will be filled with concrete and capped. This will avoid any chance of water collecting at the bottom of the pipes, which may create a risk of sinkholes.

The total cost of this second phase of the rehabilitation project was estimated at $2.3 million. The City’s intention was to use $2,191,467 of the MEEP funding and to fund the remaining $108,533 from the City’s capital budget.

However, it became clear at the end of the tender process that the entire project can be completed with the MEEP funding and the City’s portion will not be required.

The City received eight bids for this project. The highest bid was over $3.4 million, but City administration recommended the lowest bid. Council accepted the recommendation and awarded the construction contract to KMS Construction Ltd. of Tuxford, Saskatchewan, for a total amount of $1,649,466 (PST included, GST excluded).

Minken told the meeting that City administration is familiar with previous work done by the company in Swift Current.

“KMS has done numerous projects here for us in Swift Current,” he said. “They were involved in some of the work in the Highlands subdivision a number of years ago and in Springs [Drive] area construction and recently, a little over a year ago, they delivered the South Munro industrial project for us. So they're well known to us here in Swift Current and had performed well on those previous projects.”

A local contractor will benefit from this project, because Mobile Paving will be subcontracted to repair street and sidewalk surfaces after the new sewer main pipes have been installed.

Council also approved a scope change to the construction management contract, which was previously awarded to WSP. The company was originally contracted to carry out the design work for the project and it was also responsible for managing the tendering services.

WSP submitted a scope change to their contract for the provision of additional services during the construction phase of the project. These services will include a full-time on-site resident engineer, project layout, enforcement of design specifications, regulatory compliance, contract management, material testing, quality assurance inspections and project close-out. The total fee for this additional work will be $97,948 (PST included, GST excluded).

The Friesen Street storm rehabilitation project will start in the spring and is scheduled for completion by the end of August 2021.

The actual cost of the project will be lower than the MEEP funding received for this purpose. The City will be able to reallocate any remaining funding to another approved project after the completion of the Friesen Street project.

Acting Chief Administrative Officer Jim Jones confirmed during a media briefing after the council meeting that a proposal for the use of the remaining funding will soon be submitted to council.

“At the time that the MEEP funding came through, administration put together a package of about 40 projects that they thought the MEEP funding could be used for and then we narrowed it down to about three to five,” he said. “Those three to five then went to City council, and it ended up being the Friesen Street project and the Fairview East Arena project that were ticketed out. So now council has asked us to go back and name some projects around $400,000 that we could use the MEEP funding for. So it's our plan to bring those to council in early January, because we have the time then to complete it by March 31, 2022.”