Pedestrian walkway ahead of schedule

Iqaluit’s city council gave the go-ahead to begin building a pedestrian walkway last week, putting the project one year ahead of schedule.

The walkway will be marked out by wooden posts, running along the roadside of Queen Elizabeth way, between Four Corners and Sinaa Street. Each post consists of a metal rod that will be drilled into the ground, then fitted with a wooden post slid overtop. The city spent $147,000 to have the posts manufactured.

Canadrill was awarded a $98,940 contract to install the metal rods, while Nunavut Excavating was awarded $63,485 to install the wooden posts.

The posts will help protect pedestrians from traffic, said Michele Bertol, director of lands and planning. That includes shielding bystanders from drivers trying to master the art of back-in parking, which will eventually be introduced by the post office.

There was little reason to wait, said the city’s chief administrative officer, Ian Fremantle. The quotes for the work were given before the fuel increase, so costs are sure to only rise if they delay a year.