Underpass ‘cracks’ don’t have to be fixed: Brown

While some members of the public have expressed concern over “cracks” in the reconstructed underpass, Operations and Facilities manager Doug Brown told council Monday night that those are concrete construction joints and do not have to be repaired.
“We’ve got these concrete construction joints that are within the asphalt—you can see them when it rains, they’re very visible,” Brown noted.

“This is naturally-occurring. This is normal,” he stressed.
“Basically, these construction joints allow each one of these slabs to move independent of each other,” he explained. “The rebar actually is allowed to move, with shrinkage and contraction.”
Brown said he’s also received comments from the public about water pooling on the new sidewalk at the underpass, and that this will be dealt with by the contractor and project manager.
They likely will use saw-cutting to ensure water drains off the sidewalk properly.
In related news, Brown said the town still is waiting for approval from CN for forced main and pumphouse upgrades at the underpass.
These projects probably will be tendered next spring.
Moving on to the biomass roads project, Brown said the last bit of sod work was completed last week and all the interlocking bricks on Portage Avenue between Scott Street and Portage Avenue have been put in.
Coun. John Albanese asked about the seemingly increased slope of the widened sidewalk, particularly on the west side of the street where Gartch’s International Pub and Suds ’n Tubs is located.
Brown replied the widened sidewalk was built within Ontario Provincial Standard Specifications (OPSS), noting there is a four percent slope to the sidewalk in question.
Under the OPSS, sidewalks can have a slope between two and eight percent. For boulevards, the slope can be between two and 12 percent.
Measuring from the buildings on that side of Portage Avenue to 1.8 metres out, the brick path is considered a sidewalk and has a grade of four percent.
Beyond that 1.8 metres, towards the curb, the brick path is considered a boulevard and has a more severe slope down than the sidewalk, but one that still falls within standards.
The reason why the boulevard slope is greater than it used to be is the new roadway is lower than it used to be, Brown said in a separate interview yesterday.
He explained the cross-fall (gradient across the width of the road) was changed from three percent to two percent, essentially dropping the new curb down six inches lower than where it was.
Brown conceded the fact the walkway is all brick might make it difficult for some people to distinguish between the sidewalk and the boulevard.
“That’s why we made it wider by a foot, so that people know they should be walking closer to the building, not on the boulevard, because the boulevard has got between a 12 and two percent slope,” he remarked.
“If it’s that big of an issue, I think council wants me to paint a line on there. We could mark it like a road, but in the wintertime, in the most slippery conditions, you’re not going to see the line,” Brown added.
At the new municipal parking lot located on Nelson Street, the lighting will be working in the next week or so.
Brown also reminded the public that Phase Two of the biomass project will go ahead next year, which will see the reconstruction of the road, water, and sewer along Portage Avenue from First Street East to Third Street and then Fifth Street to Sixth Street.
Due to the work, there will be a period of time when the underpass will not be open, but Brown is hoping this only will be for one-two weeks.
Finally, the repaving of Central Avenue was done last week, with line painting completed on Friday.
Community Services division
Community Services manager George Bell told council Monday night that work on the lookout tower is nearly complete, adding the contractor is waiting for seven pieces of the railing and handrail to be manufactured.
They will be delivered to the site and installed next week.
The majority of the landscaping and play structures at the tower site will be installed by the end of this week.
The contractor also is waiting for glass for the cupola to arrive.
Bell said he is getting estimates for security and remote access systems, which he expects to have installed this fall.
As museum curator Pam Hawley and consultant Heather Cram continue to work on the final versions of the new interpretive panels for the waterfront, the stands for the interpretive panels will be installed this week.
The panels themselves will be installed in the spring.
And over at the site of the new library and technology centre, Bell said the glulam tresses are up, as are the wood and steel decking for the roof.
“They are proceeding nicely with the steel studs, the interior duct work, and electrical roughing that’s inside,” he noted.
The new parking lot there was paved last week, and is open for use by the public.
Light standards still need to be installed, and it’s possible they won’t be until the spring as they are supposed to be powered by the new library.
If they were put in now, they would not be energized.
Bell said he’s talking with the contractor about the possibility of powering the light standards from the arena.
Overall, the library building construction is two-three weeks behind schedule, but the parking lot work was done ahead of schedule.
“We’re are still looking at mid-March to mid-April for substantial completion,” said Bell.
In response to a question from council, Bell said the parking lot was available for use by those attending funerals at Green Funeral Home.