26th Street work topic of special council meeting

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/06/2021 (1813 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Major road work to 26th Street will be the subject of a special meeting of Brandon City Council on Monday at noon.

Council will vote on whether to accept a bid worth approximately $3 million from Alternative Landscaping to complete several projects along the street in the Linden Lanes neighbourhood. These projects include:

• Replacing the water main and services between Ashgrove Boulevard and 26th Street

• Improving land drainage between Ashgrove Boulevard and 26th Street

• Reconstructing the roads between Ashgrove Boulevard and 26th Street

• Extending multi-use paths between Ashgrove Boulevard and 26th Street

• Realigning the intersection of 26th Street and Brandon Avenue/Willowdale Crescent, including relocating traffic signals

• Replacing the culverts crossing 26th Street just north of Willowdale Crescent in the drainage ditch along the CN Rail tracks

Clogged and insufficiently large culverts along the drainage ditch have been identified by residents as one of the reasons the neighbourhood was so affected by flooding after heavy rains at the end of June and early July last year.

Alternative Landscaping’s bid of $3,008,982.21 was the least expensive of the three received by the city for the project. Allen & Bolack Excavating bid $3,317,551.45 while Maple Leaf Construction bid $4,271,239.

The city’s financial plan for 2021 budgeted $2,075,000 for these items, meaning council must provide approval for the extra costs.

In order to pay for the project and setting aside contingency funds for engineering and ancillary funds, the city is proposing to withdraw $1,075,000 from the Gas Tax Reserve along with spending $150,000 not spent due to savings from the Ninth Street water main replacement project.

If council doesn’t want to approve such a large project, a document attached to the agenda from the special meeting states it could be re-tendered with a reduced scope. However, city administration is recommending council accept the bid from Alternative Landscaping.

According to documents attached to the tender on the city’s website, the winning constructor must complete the work on or before July 15, 2022.

In order to minimize traffic disruptions in the neighbourhood, the city requested in the tender documents that work be carried out in specific phases.

The first phase would see 26th Street closed so that the new culvert can be installed, though access would be maintained to nearby businesses. In the second phase, two lanes of traffic will be maintained on 26th Street while the water main is replaced. In certain cases where work impacts all four lanes of traffic, temporary 48-hour closures will be allowed.

During phase three, the same approach will be taken but for water main and sewer work on Willowdale Crescent.

Phase four would see two lanes of traffic maintained on 26th Street as roadwork is completed, while phase five would see traffic on Willowdale Crescent reduced to one lane while work is done on that road.

The city is willing to consider alternative plans to minimize service from the contractor as long as the same or better levels of service are maintained.

While working near the rail tracks, the contractor must follow CN Rail’s safety guidelines and alert the company if work causes the tracks to move or shift position.

This special meeting will be live-streamed on the City of Brandon’s YouTube channel.

» cslark@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @ColinSlark