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City officials intend to refuse a request by Enbridge to rip up chunks of freshly laid sidewalk so 13 gas risers can be replaced.
Meanwhile, an investigation has been ordered into why the gas company failed to complete this infrastructure update before the long-planned road and sidewalk construction along Dundas St. W. was completed — a prime example of uncoordinated work that councillors say is all too common in Toronto.
In recent years, a kilometer-long stretch of Dundas St. W. has spent more time as a construction zone than a roadway, said local councillor Ana Bailão.
Since 2007, there has been streetcar track work, cable line replacement, watermain updates and finally, recent road and sidewalk reconstruction.
“It was finally supposed to be all done in September,” Bailão said.
On Monday, Bailão learned Enbridge had requested permission to drill into chunks of new sidewalk this fall to replace the foot-high pipe risers. A spokesperson with the gas company said that during a routine inspection, some corrosion was spotted.
Denzil Minnan-Wong, chair of the public works committee, said this is yet another example of shoddy planning that leads to over-budget spending, lengthy delays and city roads being ripped up, rebuilt and ripped up again across the city.
“We are told time and time again, over and over again, that things are coordinated and then we find out after the fact, when things go wrong, that they weren’t,” he said, pointing to two high-profile construction flops — St. Clair Ave. W. and the Bloor St. revitalization — that went drastically over budget and took much longer than planned.
Minnan-Wong has asked city staff to investigate the communication breakdown with Enbridge.
Bailão wonders whether the city should create a construction czar or oversight committee to manage these types of projects. But one already exists.
Utility companies and city staff are supposed to coordinate work through the city’s Toronto Public Utilities Coordinating Committee. Members include Toronto Water, Enbridge, Enwave, the TTC, transportation services, and telecommunications companies: Rogers, Bell, Allstream, Cogeco, and Videotron.
The committee meets monthly, in addition to meetings related to specific projects, said Gordon MacMillan, director of design and construction in the technical services department.
The goal is to ensure that if the city rips up the road for maintenance, the utilities go in at the same time if updates are needed.
“Enbridge actually did come in proactively and replaced a lot of infrastructure along Dundas before the roadwork,” said MacMillan. The gas riser wasn’t noticed at the time and “they’ll be spoken to.”
Enbridge spokesperson Chris Meyer said the company tries its best to coordinate with the city, but sometimes it isn’t possible.
“There are cases through our regular monitoring of the distribution system where those things are identified,” she said. This was the case with the risers.
At the moment, Meyer said the pipes do not appear to be an immediate hazard, but Enbridge wants to be proactive about safety.
MacMillan said the city will not be allowing the construction unless it is a health and safety issue or an emergency.
Reconstructed roads are not to be ripped up for five years. On resurfaced roads — where a top layer was shaved off and repaved — the moratorium is three years.
http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1005064--city-fed-up-with-uncoordinated-utility-work
Meanwhile, an investigation has been ordered into why the gas company failed to complete this infrastructure update before the long-planned road and sidewalk construction along Dundas St. W. was completed — a prime example of uncoordinated work that councillors say is all too common in Toronto.
In recent years, a kilometer-long stretch of Dundas St. W. has spent more time as a construction zone than a roadway, said local councillor Ana Bailão.
Since 2007, there has been streetcar track work, cable line replacement, watermain updates and finally, recent road and sidewalk reconstruction.
“It was finally supposed to be all done in September,” Bailão said.
On Monday, Bailão learned Enbridge had requested permission to drill into chunks of new sidewalk this fall to replace the foot-high pipe risers. A spokesperson with the gas company said that during a routine inspection, some corrosion was spotted.
Denzil Minnan-Wong, chair of the public works committee, said this is yet another example of shoddy planning that leads to over-budget spending, lengthy delays and city roads being ripped up, rebuilt and ripped up again across the city.
“We are told time and time again, over and over again, that things are coordinated and then we find out after the fact, when things go wrong, that they weren’t,” he said, pointing to two high-profile construction flops — St. Clair Ave. W. and the Bloor St. revitalization — that went drastically over budget and took much longer than planned.
Minnan-Wong has asked city staff to investigate the communication breakdown with Enbridge.
Bailão wonders whether the city should create a construction czar or oversight committee to manage these types of projects. But one already exists.
Utility companies and city staff are supposed to coordinate work through the city’s Toronto Public Utilities Coordinating Committee. Members include Toronto Water, Enbridge, Enwave, the TTC, transportation services, and telecommunications companies: Rogers, Bell, Allstream, Cogeco, and Videotron.
The committee meets monthly, in addition to meetings related to specific projects, said Gordon MacMillan, director of design and construction in the technical services department.
The goal is to ensure that if the city rips up the road for maintenance, the utilities go in at the same time if updates are needed.
“Enbridge actually did come in proactively and replaced a lot of infrastructure along Dundas before the roadwork,” said MacMillan. The gas riser wasn’t noticed at the time and “they’ll be spoken to.”
Enbridge spokesperson Chris Meyer said the company tries its best to coordinate with the city, but sometimes it isn’t possible.
“There are cases through our regular monitoring of the distribution system where those things are identified,” she said. This was the case with the risers.
At the moment, Meyer said the pipes do not appear to be an immediate hazard, but Enbridge wants to be proactive about safety.
MacMillan said the city will not be allowing the construction unless it is a health and safety issue or an emergency.
Reconstructed roads are not to be ripped up for five years. On resurfaced roads — where a top layer was shaved off and repaved — the moratorium is three years.
http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1005064--city-fed-up-with-uncoordinated-utility-work
