Saanich has closed Gorge Road West between Tillicum and Admirals roads until the fall in order to replace old sewer lines.
The timing made sense because of the ongoing Craigflower Bridge replacement project along Admirals Road, said Saanich Mayor Frank Leonard.
“The thinking is that [the area] is already so significantly disrupted it would be hard to defend getting everything back to normal again and then announcing another project,” Leonard said.
Installing the 1,700-metre sewer system will cost about $1.7 million. The work, expected to be completed by Sept. 30, is being done by Windley Contracting Ltd.
The new sewers will be installed dry (with no flow) and will replace the system currently serving the area. Flow will be switched over after a central sewage lift station is built at Austin Avenue and Gorge Road.
“If they followed normal procedure [for sewer line replacement], the bridge would get done and then they’d start digging up the roads again,” Leonard said.
“So kudos to our staff for bringing it forward and saying let’s do all the disruptive work we possibly can now and get it over with.”
Construction of the pump station is expected to start next year.
It will replace two stations that did not meet current electrical and environmental standards, and had aged mechanical and electrical equipment.
There have been some concerns expressed in the neighbourhood because the plans include a public washroom.
“You’re putting a pump station there, which, obviously, has all the plumbing and power. And we have people using the Gorge Waterway for walks, so it seemed like a perfect place to put a washroom at the same time,” Leonard said.
“But we’ve been getting complaints from neighbours that they don’t want a public washroom there because it might attract the wrong type of people.”
Saanich parks staff, however, say that the need for washroom facilities is one of the main concerns cited by trail users.
“We’re encouraging people my age and older to get active and we need to go to the bathroom more often,” Leonard said.
Total cost of the new sewer lines and the pump station is expected to be $2.7 million over two years, Leonard said.
Meanwhile, work on the $15.89-million bridge replacement — a joint project between View Royal and Saanich — is well underway. Crews removed the last section of the old bridge deck last week.
The 80-year-old bridge was closed to vehicle traffic in April and is expected to remain closed until the end of December.
