Construction timing proving costly in creek restoration project

PENTICTON – Timing of restoration work planned for Penticton Creek is proving to be bad news for city taxpayers.

Council dealt with cost overruns of $108,171 on the Penticton Creek restoration project at a special meeting of council held this week.

Mayor Andrew Jakubeit says the meeting was called in order to allow contractors to begin restoration work early next week, as they only have a brief time frame in which to get the work done. About 75 per cent of the project is funded through grants, with the city paying for the rest.

The project’s tender closed July 21 with the lowest of two tenders coming in $93,750 over the consultant’s estimated cost.

Additional funding for the work will be diverted from a planned bike lane project, which will be reintroduced into the 2016 budget. Staff recommended $119,220 be transferred from the Bike Network Plan to the restoration project.

The cost overruns are being attributed to time of year the work will take place, the tight contract schedule and a local shortage of critical construction materials.

“The month of August is the only window they have, because of the fish habitat as well as being the time of year when flows are lowest,” Jakubeit says.

The concrete lining of the downtown portion of Penticton Creek has deteriorated badly in places, and the restoration work being done this year is meant to showcase the enhancements in the hopes of attracting further funding to continue along the creek in the future.

The work involves 80 metres of the creek north from the Ellis Street bridge.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Steve Arstad at sarstad@infonews.ca or call 250-488-3065. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.