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Construction crews break ground for Quathiaski Cove sewer extension project

The much-anticipated expansion to Quadra Island’s sewer system breaks ground
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Carla Duffey, Lime Soda Photography/Special to the Mirror Area C Director Jim Abram gets “shovel ready” with pipes waiting to be installed on Anderson Road for the Quathiaski Cove sewer extension project.

Long-awaited construction to extend the sewer system on Quadra Island has officially begun, as construction crews moved in and heavy equipment broke ground on Anderson Road recently to prepare for pipe installation.

Area C Director Jim Abram said he’s thrilled to see the project – which will help lower sewer costs for those already on the system – finally get off the ground.

“I couldn’t be happier,” said Abram, director for the Discovery Islands-Mainland Inlets, in a release. “For several years, we have been trying to get this project moving forward in a fiscally responsible way. I’m so glad I was able to secure the much-needed funding assistance that would allow the project to move forward and get local people working. It is great to see so many Quadra Island contractors working full-time on this project.”

The project was awarded to Campbell River-based Berry & Vale for $727,466 and involves the installation of roughly 1,265 metres of gravity sewer pipe, 638 m of force main, service connections, pavement restorations, a gravel path and a fence.

The expansion is expected to connect roughly 43 new properties to the island’s existing sewer system in and around Quathiaski Cove. The extension has been on the Strathcona Regional District’s radar for several years and was approved by referendum in July, 2014. The project hit a roadblock, though, when the regional district put out a call for a contractor to undertake the work and all tenders came back over budget.

The extension project was revived, however, last fall when when the Strathcona Regional District was announced as an inaugural recipient of the new Clean Water and Wastewater Fund, a joint grant between the federal and provincial governments in which the federal government is providing one-half of the project costs ($684,425), while the province is chipping in one-third ($451,720), leaving the local government to make up the remainder ($232,705) through the Area C Community Works Fund.

That paved the way for the regional district to hire Berry & Vale, which began site preparation work earlier this month by setting up a staging area and project site office on property immediately behind the Peoples Drug Mart pharmacy, just off Plaza Road.

Construction crews have removed trees to make way for a walking trail that will connect Nole and Plaza Roads to the Village core, and have already begun the pipe installation process on Anderson Road.

Patti Wells, the regional district’s operations engineer, said work on the sewer project could impact drivers.

“Quadra Islanders may experience some traffic delays during construction,” Wells said in a release. “It is hard to predict whether there will be disruptions to property owners, but the regional district will be working closely with the contractors and will be in regular communications with all residents as the project continues.”

Construction is expected to be complete by the end of this July.