The City of Prince George says it can finally get some much-needed watermain projects started after the B.C. government made a significant announcement this morning (May 27).
The province is investing more than $350 million in northern B.C. road resurfacing, which includes eight kilometres of Highway 16 between 20 Avenue and the Old Cariboo Highway.
Along this stretch includes the intersection at Third Avenue, where a 64-year-old cast-iron water pipe burst in November, causing traffic delays for almost 24 hours.
Crews ultimately replaced the equipment with a 1.5-metre plastic main.
Now, with the road upgrades coming soon, the city has decided to replace the break-prone pipe altogether.
Initial operations start tomorrow evening (May 28) until 8 a.m. on Friday (May 29) with construction of the entire replacement project set to begin later this summer.
“Prince George City Council wishes to thank the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure for its continued commitment and investment in the safety and improvement of the highways in and around our city, in addition to providing residents and visitors with an enhanced and safer transportation system,” said Prince George Mayor Lyn Hall in a release.
“Provincial capital projects such as this and the upgrades along Highway 16 West are providing the city with fantastic opportunities to improve both above-and-below-ground infrastructure along the highways and achieve economies of scale that would not otherwise be available.”
The operation also involves replacing watermains, and other associated infrastructure, between Vancouver and Victoria Streets, which is part of Prince George’s larger replacement program.
“These mains break at about nine times the rate of mains outside of the downtown area and are past their 60-year service life,” reads a statement from the city.
“Although the 23 kilometres of watermains make up only four percent of the City's mains, they experience about a third of all breaks.”
Businesses and buildings in these areas are expected to experience low-to-no water pressure, but the city says these places will be notified as timelines are finalized.
More information is available on the City of Prince George website.
The B.C. government is also set to resurface other roads in the northern capital, including 20-km of Highway 97 between the Salmon River Bridge and O’Dell Road, as well as 15-km of Upper Fraser Road and 130 metres of 11 Avenue pavement between Vancouver and Victoria Streets.
The total cost of the local upgrades is $9 million, $32,000 of which is funded by the city.
