One of the most pressing problems that has been facing the City of Prince Rupert for quite some time has been their long outdated water and sewage distribution systems although, the City finally was able to start working on fixing that issue earlier this year.
And in an interview with the Mayor of Prince Rupert, Herb Pond, he gave an update on how the pricey project was going now that we’re almost halfway through 2025.
“So it’s a huge project, $200 Million project, it has gone a little bit delayed and overbudget, we’re not surprised by that, when you look at the timeline it takes to raise the money and the holding time to get to actual construction, price of pipe goes up, price of labor goes up so it’s not something we want obviously, we want to see it stretch every dollar as far as we can and we have asked staff to look at various ways to see how they can bring the cost down and extend that money so that it goes as far as it possibly can”
As far as when all of the work will actually be finished, Mayor Pond also provided a bit of an estimate although for anyone hoping that it would be done in relatively short order, that hope has been dashed.
“We’re at least two years more construction, a lot of the work that’s been done to date has been out of site, it’s been around Shawatlans Road where people can’t see, we’re now moving into people’s neighborhoods, they know we’re there, we’re out knocking on doors saying hey we’re coming next week into your neighborhood and so it’s become much more visible but it’ll be very present in the community for at least two more years”
Some of the places in Prince Rupert that either are or were slated to undergo such construction in the near future includes the back half of Crestview, 11th Avenue, Conrad and Victoria Street, parts of Hays Cove Avenue as well as Alfred and Bacon Street.
Restrictions to parking and disruptions to driveway access will also likely be present when work on the project is taking place and planned construction hours are from 7 AM until 5:30 PM while also taking place 7 days a week.