The City of Thompson has agreed to spend $343,725 with Nelson River Construction Inc. of Winnipeg, who are also doing provincial roadwork on Highway 6 this summer, to update road infrastructure, including paving and curb work, in the Burntwood South and Princeton Drive South areas. The cost is well below the original budget of $580,000 for the project.
Council passed a resolution at their June 7 meeting awarding the contract to Nelson River Construction Inc., who was up against Maple Leaf Construction Ltd. in the bidding process. Maple Leaf came to the city with a slightly higher bid of $344,170. Four packages were sent out and Maple Leaf and Nelson River were the only vendors who responded.
In the end, it wasn't just saving $445 that led city council to award the contract to Nelson River. The company has also done previous work for the city, which council deemed satisfactory.
Craig Findlay, manager of assets and infrastructure with the City of Thompson, says areas within Burntwood South and Princeton Drive South, including Despins Road and Robinson Way, will be getting curbing and asphalt completed this summer. The Burntwood Trailer Court (BTC) will also be undergoing a test pave project, with a block only being laid with asphalt to see if the pavement holds up in the future.
"All the roads in the BTC are not currently paved. We're going to have a block paved and wait a couple of years to see what happens with it," Findlay explains. "The BTC has got permafrost problems, and typically when you put pavement down on permafrost areas it doesn't last very well, because pavement is a heat sink - it absorbs the heat and drives it into the ground faster, which melts the permafrost. Typically, it creates unstable ground and then your pavement breaks up."
Findlay says the cost of asphalt through Nelson River is very fair this year -- $50 to $60 per tonne compared to what the city has paid in previous years, and this means more infrastructure will be updated this year.
