Iqaluit awards Tower Arctic $5.9M contract for sewer work
Project will be focused on replacing sanitary sewers in downtown core
Iqaluit city council met on Tuesday afternoon and approved Tower Arctic’s bid to replace the sewage system in the downtown core. Construction will start in June or July, city spokesperson Aleksey Cameron said. (File photo by David Lochead)
The City of Iqaluit has awarded a $5.9 million contract to Tower Arctic Ltd. to replace a portion of the city’s sewage system.
The work will be centred in the city’s downtown core, as that portion of the system handles more wastewater than it is supposed to, according to city spokesperson Aleksey Cameron.
Council approved the contract on Tuesday in a unanimous vote.
Replacement of sewer pipes will be the main objective of the project, along with improving drainage, according to a presentation Sumon Ghosh, Iqaluit’s director of engineering and capital spending gave to council on Tuesday.
The pipes will be replaced between the Four Corners intersection and the end of the airport runway.
Construction is scheduled to begin in June or July and last through the end of the year. There will be disruptions to traffic in the area associated with the work, said Cameron, adding the city plans to hold engagement sessions with the public this spring.
This work was originally planned for last year, but the bids from contractors to complete the job went over the city’s budget, Ghosh said to Nunatsiaq News.
Tower Arctic’s proposal beat out two other bidders, with Ghosh adding the company’s bid was the lowest and met all the requirements the city had for the project.
This upgrade is a part of a citywide initiative, Cameron said, because the current sewage system cannot handle sewage from new property developments.
As a result, new developments need to build their own sewage tanks, and that sewage is transferred to the main sewer lines at a time of day that is not as busy.
With an upgraded sewage system, new developments will be able to directly connect to the sewage system, Cameron said.
Where’s the rest of the story: Why wasn’t this done last year as proposed, and how is choosing the cheapest company to meet the minimum work requirements a reward?
Did you read the article? It clearly says it wasn’t done last year because of the city’s budget.
Of course they pick the cheaper bid, it’s taxpayer money. That’s how the bidding process works.
Why Tower Arctic ? Why Not Choose Kudlik or other ?
Why replace the existing pipes? Why not twin the system, so there is redundancy and even more capacity?
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Yes, the old pipes are… old. but they worked this winter. Why tear them out?
Its the goverments job is waste your money
Pipes in very cold environments must be fed by warm water to prevent freezing. This is costly. More valves is expensive and higher risk of failure, plus more for overall maintenance. Many parts of the old system are at the end of their service life. They have pits and mineralization and cracks from ground compression. Sewers are best kept simple.
Huh I’m not clear with this project as more serious stuff should be considered and shoud sue the city of Iqaluit soon,
Amy your not a good CEO and taken as a Muppets show not understand your position now and never helped the lower base area people smelling diesel smells to there house every winter as not help in your position.
Not a happy iqaluitmuit
What a joke
#1 Amy isn’t the CEO shes’s the CAO.
#2 your grammar makes your whole point invalid
#3 this is so badly needed, making people install sewer tanks because the pipes can’t handle it. It’s unheard of. The pipes were mares for 8,000 people
#4 never comment on anything ever again
Your feelings are not the only feelings in Iqaluit. After how many years of mismanagement with the city, with the experience of living in iqaluit for many years. would anyone agree that they have faith in the city of Iqaluit decisions? I think an external audit of city practices needs to be done and make that public. Might be interesting to see!
These could and should be done at the city, at the hamlets and at various gn departments. Problem is, the results are not something that our leaders would be proud of, so it’s best we just keep moving backwards and acting like everything’s all honky-dorey
Finally some work is starting. Please just ensure the roads will be properly repaired and paved afterwards. At this time, even small potholes are not repaired properly, and other areas just turn into sink holes
Get ready for massive extras being required by this company, well known for it and in disputes with GN over several projects
Tower Arctic is the cheapest business. Every time they get the bid, they always use cheap stuff. They cut corners. I used to work for them. They didn’t offer raise or bonuses. Just stuffing their pockets from the hard working tax payers.