In early May, the City of Airdrie will begin a construction project along Main Street that will cause sections of the road to be closed completely during the summer.
Glenn Archer, team leader of Capital Projects, said the City is tentatively scheduled to begin replacing water and sewer infrastructure on the Main Street corridor May 4.
“Some of the infrastructure is at the end of its life, so it’s going to be replaced,” he said. “That would be primarily water and sanitary sewer. There is also some consideration of storm sewer installation, which is new, because when the original system was installed storm wasn’t part of it. Water would just drain overland.”
The infrastructure being replaced dates back to the 1970s, Archer said. Once replaced, the new infrastructure has an expected lifespan of around 100 years.
According to Archer, this summer's construction is a continuation of a project that began last year. Originally, the project was intended to be completed in 2019.
“It turned out to be overly optimistic, particularly since it was one of the worst weather years on record,” he said. “It’s very difficult to work in the ground when it keeps filling up with water.”
The City has learned from last year, Archer said, when closures along Main Street caused significant impacts for residents and businesses. With many residents staying home and businesses either closed or operating on a limited scope due to COVID-19, he said there is an opportunity this year to do some work without the same level of disruption.
“Certainly, we understand that this has serious impact on local businesses, so the more we can get done while things are in this kind of lockdown situation, the better it will be for everybody,” Archer said.
Six phases are planned for the project, which Archer said is intended to be completed by fall of this year.
“Where we left off last year was down by the old fire hall,” he said. “We’re going to start there again and head north until we’re caught up to where we started last year.”
The project is one of several necessary to replace aging infrastructure, Archer said.
“There’s a variety of other deep utility work all over the core area that was identified several years ago that the city’s working away kind of a year at a time,” he said.
Archer said the City appreciates residents’ patience during the project.
“We certainly recognize that having us go through is an enormous inconvenience,” Archer said. “But it’s much better to replace this infrastructure in a planned way then it is to roll in the middle of the night when it breaks.”
Ben Sherick, AirdrieToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @BenSherick
