One of the city's oldest and steepest connectors from downtown Trail to the upper west side could be in for a revamp next year.
“The Glover Road sidewalk is in desperate need of repair,” Public Works Manager Larry Abenante told Trail council Monday. “The sidewalk, handrails, pillars – it's all in terrible shape. This year, all the engineering work will be done so we have a shelf ready project in 2016,” he added. “And we can say this is a high priority and hopefully get funds for it in next year's budget.”
The job won't be completed in one go and will cost a pretty penny, but the $40,000 first step to improve the Glover Road walkway and railings drew to a close Wednesday afternoon.
Widening the sidewalk to five feet while minimizing traffic impact, maintaining Glover Road travel lane widths, re-designing the handrails to code and addressing storm drainage, top the list of upgrades in the city's Request for Proposal (RFP), issued three weeks ago.
The Glover Road project garnered considerable interest, says Patrick Gauvreau, Trail's roads and grounds superintendent. “There was an on-site meeting shortly thereafter where over a half dozen engineering firms were present,” he said.
Applicants were given a bottom-to-top overview of the job during a walk up to Binns Street, with many questions asked and challenges identified, said Gauvreau.
“Today (Wednesday) I am hoping to receive several proposals and will look at putting the best one forward,” he continued. “In order to have the Glover Road sidewalk/handrail shovel ready for a capital project in 2016.”
After a series of water main breaks this year, the city's sidewalk maintenance budget has swelled to cover unexpected repairs in eight Trail locations including a 150-foot stretch on Birch Avenue.
Annual inspections triggered fixes to tripping hazards on downtown sidewalks, and replacing of wheelchair ramps at Bay Ave. and Farwell as well as the Glover Road RFP.
Additionally, the water main breaks, not including the significant failure during the Bear Creek Valve Replacement Project, are expected to topple the 2015 budget.
While making water supply improvements at the Bear Creek Well, located just off Highway 3B near the city's RV Park, a water main situated under the roadway burst.
Trail council allotted $250,000 for the job that once complete, will up the Green Gables reservoir capacity, (near Walmart) from 65 per cent to 100 per cent.
The upgraded water supply is expected to be up and running this week.