A delay in the repair of White Rock pier could cost the city $115,000 in federal funding.
During last week’s council meeting, director of engineering and municipal operations Greg St. Louis explained that discovery of more work – and a lack of response from contractors – had led to the delay of the pier repairs, pushing them past the funding deadline for a federal grant from the Community Infrastructure Improvement fund.
The funding was slated to pay for 50 per cent of the initial cost, which was estimated at $230,600 in 2010, as long as work was completed by March 31, 2013.
However, the setbacks not only pushed the estimated cost to $405,000, it also delayed the completion date of the project to May 17, 2013 – past the grant deadline.
St. Louis told council the city applied for an extension and is awaiting a response.
The pier repairs stem from an initial 2010 inspection which found 11 timber piles that needed to be replaced. However, it was later discovered that an additional five piles would need to be replaced.
The project was tendered to begin in January with a finish date of the end of this month, however there were no respondents, St. Louis said.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t get any of the contractors to close the project,” St. Louis said. “The rationale the contractors used was that they’re busy trying to complete work prior to Feb. 28 before there are fishery closures.”
The project was then retendered to begin February 2013, with the new completion date of May 17.
Only one contractor – Fraser River Pile and Dredge (GP) Inc. – responded, noting that instead of replacing the 16 piles, they would need to wedge the existing posts between two stabilizing piles, bringing the total number of posts required for the project to 32.
The pier is to be closed for a maximum of 45 days, however the city is aiming for 20-30 days.
Council voted unanimously to begin the work.