With funding in place, the second phase of the Mark Creek flume rehab will begin this summer after the freshet. Mayor Don McCormick says that Council will be receiving an update on the current design in the coming weeks.
There are some areas of the project that are still being looked at, one of them being the bridge on Wallinger Avenue. Because the bridge is owned by the provincial Ministry of Transportation, the City can’t do much with it. And even if the City wanted to extend it, costs would be prohibitive.
“We are not going to touch the bridge,” McCormick said. “There are issues with that portion of the flume on the BJ’s Restaurant side, where it is right up against the business. We are reviewing how to deal with that stretch. But we will err on the side of being conservative. The flume will narrow there.”
McCormick says there won’t be room for as much of the rock work as further downstream, and it is not out of the question that some type of concrete flume might remain in that one area.
“If we try to get fancy, the cost will run out. Phase II of the flume must be perfect after Phase I and all the problems with costs. Caution is the order of the day.”
The Mayor says he is adamant that Council must be kept informed as the project goes along.