Construction of almost a kilometre of sewage pipe will mean residents of Niagara Street in the James Bay neighbourhood will only be able to reach their homes by foot during the six weeks of work.
Niagara Street between St. Lawrence and South Turner Streets is to be used as the staging area to weld together pipe sections as part of the region’s $765-million sewage treatment project.
Crews will work 12-hour days to assemble the metre-diameter steel pipe, which will run between Ogden Point and McLoughlin Point.
During the final week of construction all cross streets will be closed at Niagara, as crews work around the clock to weld together all the sections to form a single 940-metre length that is to be pulled over Dallas Road and through a tunnel under the harbour to McLoughlin Point, where a treatment plant is being built.
“We certainly recognize the impacts and we’re working very hard to mitigate them,” said Elizabeth Scott, deputy director of the Capital Regional District’s sewage treatment program. “What we’re working very hard to do is to get that work completed and to get that street back to normal and minimize the disruption to people.”
Coun. Pam Madoff, a James Bay resident, said the project will test the patience of locals. It will be a challenge for project staff to ensure resident concerns are addressed, she said. “I would be hard pressed to think of another situation where folks are to be inconvenienced to this degree.
“Obviously, it’s something that needs to be done and it’s a major infrastructure project and all of that, but it’s very hard to envision logistically what this will actually look like for those residents for six weeks.”
Early next month, an enclosed welding station will be set up on Niagara Street and 12-metre-long pipe sections will be brought in to be welded together.
“As those pipe sections are welded together they’ll get laid out in longer sections along Niagara Street. Then during the end of that construction period they’ll weld up those sections and we’ll have to close the cross streets, and then once the entire 940-metre length is welded together they will pull it all the way through that drill passage under the harbour,” Scott said.
Work has been underway for months drilling the undersea passage between Ogden Point and McLoughlin Point. Drilling went faster than anticipated meaning work can be done in advance of the tourist season, Scott said.
Plans are for workers to be on the site 12 hours a day — 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday to Friday — and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturdays for five weeks, beginning in early March. Work will continue around the clock in the last week.
“We’ve been working very hard with community members and first responders and businesses in the area — getting information out to houses [and] people that live there, keeping in mind all of the different people that access Niagara Street,” Scott said.
“We’ve been looking at putting loading zones in place on the side streets; looking at parking options and we’ll also have a help tent that’s available to provide on-the-ground assistance as well as a telephone line and an email address that people can use to contact us with any concerns.”
The project team has made sure garbage and blue box pickup will continue. Buses will be re-routed.
While there will be emergency services access at all times, Niagara Street will be closed to vehicles for the duration of the work.
Pedestrian access will be maintained to all residences at all times.
Plans call for no parking on Niagara Street between Dallas Road and South Turner Street. Niagara Street residents will be able to park on side streets during construction.
Public meetings are planned for Wednesday between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. at the Edelweiss Club, 108 Niagara, to outline plans and answer questions. The project team is particularly interested in contacting anyone with mobility issues to address special needs they may have.
A help tent will be set up in the 200-block of Niagara, by the James Bay Community School, staffed by a project representative who will be available during working hours.
