The repair work is scheduled to begin in spring 2025 and be completed by the end of June
The City of Powell River Seaway Rehabilitation Project is expected to begin next spring.
At the city committee meeting on December 17th, infrastructure director Tor Birtig explained the project, which became necessary due to the storm damage in January 2022.
Birtig said the preliminary design has been completed and there is regulatory approval for coastal improvements as well as mapping of specific problem areas.
“We are primarily focusing on 400 linear meters of the seaway, which was significantly affected by the storm damage,” Birtig said. “The next step will be to submit the final design and project management works to a public tender process, expected to take place in January 2025.
“At this point, the successful applicant will prepare the final design to address slope stability concerns, as well as environmental, fisheries and archaeological considerations. Once this design is finalized and approved, we must submit it to the archaeological department as well as the Tla'amin Nation before work begins.”
Birtig said the final design is expected to be completed by the end of March 2025. In addition, archaeological monitoring may be required, but this will depend on the scope of the design.
“At this point, we plan to subject the construction work to another public tender process, which we expect in March or April 2025 at the end of June,” said Birtig.
Given the expected construction window, tides will be favorable during the day, which should help keep construction costs down, he added.
Mayor Ron Woznow said there is a lot of interest from people who enjoy hiking along the ocean trail.
“The more we can communicate what you just laid out, the better it is,” Woznow said.
Councilwoman Cindy Elliott said she was curious if the work so far raised concerns about whether the project was possible with the current budget of $800,000 or if Birtig had concerns about going over budget.
Birtig said the city wants to stay within budget and the focus will be on solving the more problematic issues. He said if the budget allows, the city can continue to work on the project's aesthetics, as opposed to what is geotechnically necessary.
Elliott then said of the first round of construction that there was significant involvement in Tla'amin because the seafront is a high-quality archaeological site. She asked during the drafting phase whether there had been any contacts or suggestions from Tla'amin that could help incorporate the nation's concerns into the draft.
Birtig said an archaeological survey was conducted and the original design would not impact archaeological sites. However, he said that there may be some problems after submitting the final design and that if the construction works lead to any of the archaeological sites, the city would have to consult archaeologists and Tla'amin.
City councilor and committee chairman George Doubt said there were many people in the community waiting for the seaway to be repaired.
The project has a total budget of $800,000 and is funded by the Powell River Community Forest. A staff report showed $37,085 had been spent as of Dec. 10, leaving $762,915 available in the budget.
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