Three years after council approved a budget on its upgrades, work to bring a 43-year-old Prince George structure is finally in the works.
Back in May of this year, the current council decided to increase the Second Avenue Parkade improvement project to $5.1 million from $2.725 million, as advised by the city’s engineering department, due to significant scope changes of the facility and increased cost of materials and labour.
That labour has begun on the parkade as of this week, which holds up to 500 vehicles and is widely used by residents that work in the downtown core.
“We are trying to build in a pretty healthy contingency,” said Adam Holmes, city director of engineering to council on May 27. “One of the issues with these kinds of structures is you can’t see all of the deficiencies until the contractors in place and doing some testing on the concrete.”
“In the last three years, the cost has risen, so here’s what we have to work with,” said Coun. Terri McConnachie at the same council meeting, expressing the need to get this project going to accommodate downtown housing.
“I think where we go wrong, as anyone in construction knows, the secret to keeping costs down is to get in, get dirty, and get out in the shortest amount of time possible.”
Since construction started, crews are a third of the way through pouring concrete which equates to over 3,200 sq. ft.
This is part of the process of rehabilitating parkade rebar that has separated or rusted, with sections needing repair ranging from 18 inches to the size of a car.
That work includes removing the concrete in those sections, cleaning or even replacing the rebar, then repairing it with new concrete.
Second Avenue Parkade upgrades are expected to be done by summer 2020.
A sixth parkade is also in the middle of construction, serving as the foundation for the new ParkHouse Condominiums in front of City Hall.
- with files from Hanna Petersen, PrinceGeorgeMatters
