The cost has increased with close to $60,000 for some important upgrades to downtown Thorold, a staff report reveals.
Now the city’s Public Works department also suggests pushing the Sullivan/Clairmont/Front St. South upgrades to 2024 to give residents a break from what it calls ‘construction fatigue.’
It was in 2019 that the city slammed the gavel on a few upgrades to the downtown core, both invisible infrastructure as well as some extension of parking opportunities, bike lanes and more.
A staff report brought to city council now reveals that some changes to the project has led to an additional $59,223 in engineering fees, increasing the estimated construction cost to $3.2 million.
Staff said the changes include extension of new sanitary sewer- and watermain to improve serviceability and eliminate non-standard servocong configurations on private properties, inclusion of the on-street parking, sidewalk and loading zone at the entrance to the Battle of Beaverdams Park, as well as a conflict with overhead hydro lines that required relocation or burial of hydro services.
Staff also suggests that the city push the planned upgrades to 2024, to allow businesses a rest from construction turmoil and dust.
Simultaneously, a project cost increase was also noted in the Broderick Avenue Road reconstruction, where revisions to the project designs increased the cost with circa $20,000.
