The Boulevard Lake Dam rehabilitation will cost $1.5 million more than initially expected.
City Council will look at a report at their upcoming meeting on August 23, summarizing the additional construction and engineering work required for the project and where the funding will come from.
Current River Ward Councillor Andrew Foulds is disappointed with the news, but cautions that this is less than the original tender.
“It’s really an unfortunate situation,” says Foulds. “The report is saying in essence, that we’ll need an additional $1.5 million to complete the work. Obviously I’m not happy about this, but we are still well under the initial cost estimates.”
Foulds notes the age of the dam led to the unexpected cost increase.
“I’d like everyone to remember this structure is over 100 years old, and it’s a little like when you buy a house that’s 100 years old and you want to renovate it,” added Foulds. “You plan the best you can for new plumbing, new drywall, new electrical, all those kinds of things. All of a sudden you start the work and you open up the walls, and you say wow, and that’s kind of what happened at Boulevard Lake Dam.”
There are multiple factors that caused the dam rehabilitation to cost more, including the concrete being in worse condition than initially thought.
There was also more bedrock that had to be removed to ensure the new mechanical gates functioned properly.
Despite the added cost, the Boulevard Lake Dam rehabilitation is still set to be completed by October 31st.
