The City of Thunder Bay has just gotten the go-ahead from the Ontario government to proceed on the multi-million dollar repair work on the Boulevard Lake Dam this spring. The province had recently ordered a shutdown of many construction sites in its efforts to hold off the spread of COVID-19 per TB Newswatch.
The city just recently received confirmation that this project qualifies for an exemption on the grounds that the dam is considered to be critical infrastructure.
A company called Concrete Walls Limited of Thunder Bay won the $7.3 million dollar contract in March. After the consulting engineering services costs were added, the total cost for this project jumped to $8.5 million.
The City of Thunder Bay is still assessing the status of other municipal construction projects that were planned for this year.
Due to the recent announcement by the government a few days ago, the extended construction hours will pertain to this project and work will be permitted 24 hours a day.
The province will temporarily limit local noise bylaws from applying to essential projects.
The extended hours will give worksite managers more flexibility in staggering shifts, limiting the number of people in one place and taking precautions to keep workers safe under recently released guidelines for construction sites.
According to Country 1053.ca, work on the dam repairs is expected to start next month and continue into next year.
"There are some significant structural deficiencies with the dam - some of the concrete there is over a hundred years old and is in need of repair. One of the big aspects of the project is we have to put a new set of steel anchors through the dam in order to ensure that it's stable."
City of Thunder Bay's project engineer | Mike Vogrig
Delaying the repair work on the dam could have become a dangerous situation and increased the risk of flooding downstream.
Editor's note: This is, indeed, a confusing time for the construction industry. DataBid is working tirelessly to report and distill the news that can help you and your company make the right decisions and keep you up to date on the constant changes as they are made. We hope our coverage brings some clarity amid all the confusion.
