The Regional Waterline might be coming in under the original $72-million pre-tender estimates.
Contracts for the waterline running from the water treatment plant in Cold Lake to the transfer station, and from the transfer station to the Town of Bonnyville, are estimated to be less than the pre-tender estimate after local contractors won the tenders for both projects.
“The Town and the MD pushed for local involvement from some of our local contractors,” said Reeve Greg Sawchuk. “We managed to get some of them included in the group that were allowed to put in their bid for the waterline. It turns out a local contractor has been chosen to do a couple portions of the waterlines.”
Sawchuk stressed the importance of utilizing local companies. in order to keep money in the community.
Mayor Gene Sobolewski was happy to see portions of the project awarded to Lakeland-area contractos.
He said, they will likely have a better understanding of the region.
“Local contractors know local conditions, local labour, local equipment, and local supply. The contractors have a big job to do, and they’re looking to do a lot of local hiring.”
The original pre-tender estimate for the line to the transfer station was $18.9-million, but the bid came in about $5.5-million under at $13.4-million. The line from the transfer station to Bonnyville had an original price tag of $45.8-million. The bid granted was roughly $28.1-million, cutting the cost of that phase nearly in half.
The project was broken down into different parts.
“It’s looking like the tenders are all coming in on budget, which is good because there were some worries that it might be a little over budget,” Sawchuk explained.
Some of the phases included upgrading the Cold Lake pump station, the city underground work, the transfer station, and the main pipeline between the transfer station and Bonnyville.
The bid for the transfer station was about $6.1-million, a little over the pre-tender estimate of $5.2-million.
While the waterline has been in the works for over a decade, federal and provincial funding wasn’t secured until 2016, when the Town of Bonnyville was awarded a $350,000 through the Alberta Community Partnership (ACP) grant. The waterline is also being funded by the Canadian Clean Water and Wastewater Fund, to a tune of $32.4-million.
The waterline will run from the Cold Lake Water Treatment Plant, down the Iron Horse Trail, through a transfer station near 4 Wing Cold Lake, and along Hwy. 28, before moving back onto the trail, and straight to the Bonnyville reservoir and pump house.
The final tender was awarded last week, however details had not been released on whether or not it came in within the pre-tendered estimate.
