Stratford adjusts sewer tender to stay in budget

After two failed efforts to attract a bid on a sewer project that was within its budget, the Town of Stratford, P.E.I., has made some changes to lower the cost.

The work involves putting in a pump station where the town's existing waste treatment site is, in order to pump Stratford sewage through pipes across the Hillsborough Bridge to the Charlottetown treatment plant. The project also includes decommissioning the Stratford lagoon system, said Robert Hughes, chief administrative officer for the town.

The town had put out tenders on the work, but the cost came in too high, Hughes said, and there have been some changes made to the tender.

"The pipe on the bridge itself, we're allowing PVC pipe whereas before it was a steel pipe product. And we're also allowing the contractors to use different excavation methods, more traditional excavation methods on the road rather than keeping away from the road," Hughes said.

The budget for the project is $10.9 million.

"There could be more traffic work required, but cheaper pipework installation potentially. And there's also a few provincial items in this tender to shore up the bank, put in some retaining walls and things like that," Hughes said.

A decade of talking

Work could begin as early as the end of September.

"We expect and hope the pipework will be done by the spring, but it might take a little bit longer to do the installation of the lift station and all the piping and pipework that is involved with that," said Hughes.

Hughes said the first study on the Stratford sewage system was done in 2009 and he is getting anxious to see the work begin.

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