It’s good news for residents living in northwest Calgary, as work on the Bearspaw south feeder main looks to be on time and on budget, according to the city. The city has made some noticeable progress on the line. Micro-tunnelling and installation of a concrete carrier pipe are now at 51 per cent and 55 per cent, respectively. “As of this week, the Stage A project is halfway completed,” said Michael Thompson, the city’s general manager of infrastructure services. The concrete carrier will be lined with a steel pipe. Sections of steel are expected to start arriving in Calgary over the coming weeks and will be installed as they come in. “Progress is going as expected. We’re on schedule. We’re on budget. Safety has been very good,” said Darren Finney with the city. It’s encouraging news, as other construction along 33rd Avenue between 77th and 83rd streets has been completed. But there’s more to do, including along 34th Avenue. Water is being rerouted with hoses running along neighbouring lawns, but residents are making the most of it. “My grandson thinks it’s amazing because now he plays ‘the ground is lava,’ so he just walks along the pipe and the board,” said resident Rachel Barber. Some are enjoying the new speed bumps deterring lead-footed drivers. “The speeding down here is just outrageous, especially with the playground zone here and the stop sign that no one stops at,” said resident Shannon Baker. “So, for us, the traffic calming seems like a benefit. Just a side benefit, I guess.” Others are a bit frustrated. Raman Verma owns a construction company building a duplex on 34th Avenue. “We will delay our project almost a month because we are expecting in September we will finish this project,” said Verma. The city says there are a number of key factors to the construction being on time and on budget. “They’ve done a ton of planning to make sure they were ready for elements that would come up,” Thompson said. “They are really committed. They’re very much focused on quality, safety and schedule.” The water-main project is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
