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Heeding warnings of a "significant traffic disruption" in the Lakeshore Drive-Judge Avenue-Memorial Drive area due to a needed large watermain installation, North Bay City Council has followed the recommendation of City staff to hire a contractor to drill under — instead of dig up — one of the busiest intersections in town.
Council recently unanimously awarded a nearly $150,000 contract to Sabi Thorne Holdings Ltd., opting for the horizontal directional drilling approach instead of the more conventional style of open trench watermain installation. The Stouffville, Ont., based company was the only bidder on the project.
The final phase of this important water infrastructure project is scheduled for this spring. With the award of the contract, the new watermain will pass under the key intersection that connects the north and south ends of North Bay.
According to the associated staff report for the project, a potential "single point failure in the distribution system," has been identified. There is only one 16-inch large diameter watermain that delivers drinking water to the West Ferris area and, over the past five years, that watermain has experienced numerous breaks.
The City of North Bay Infrastructure and Operations team's goal has been to install this second 16-inch large diameter watermain to provide drinking water to the West Ferris area, thereby greatly reducing the risk to the City’s drinking water distribution system.
