Capital projects mostly on time and on budget, council hears
Most of the projects in the City of Edmonton's 2023-2026 capital budget are on budget and on time, but a handful are beyond the city's tolerance for how much they are costing or how long they are taking.
A report to city council on Dec. 8 indicated that as of Sept. 30, all but five of 85 projects for this budget cycle are within the acceptable tolerance for budget, while all but seven are within the acceptable tolerance for schedule.
"We're obviously doing a pretty good job of making sure that things are coming in on budget and pretty much on time, but there still seems to be a public perception that we're not doing that," Coun. Reed Clarke said in response to the report, asking whether there's a communications plan to "flip the narrative."
Administration responded that some projects are close to opening, such as Hawrelak Park, or have opened ahead of schedule, such as the 50th Street overpass, which creates an opportunity to tell a positive story."There's that period of time where everything feels messy and under construction, but as we start opening, I hope Edmontonians can see that progress is happening," said Sara Nichols, deputy city manager for integrated infrastructure services.
Among the projects that are behind is Imagine Jasper Avenue, which is 28% behind schedule and 22% over budget for the 114 Street to 124 Street portion of a decade-long upgrade to the busy downtown thoroughfare. An update on significant capital projects notes that both the budget and schedule went off course due to design revalidation between conception and execution of the upgrades. Construction from 114 Street to 117 Street is underway, and construction from 117 Street to 121 Street is expected to begin in the spring.
A few blocks off Jasper Avenue, in the vicinity of Churchill Square, the Downtown District Energy Initiative is the most delayed capital project, at 121% behind schedule, the report notes. The delay is because council decided to increase the project's scope in July of this year. The first phase of the project, to heat the Winspear Centre, was completed in September, a city spokesperson told Taproot. A second phase will eventually heat City Hall, the Citadel Theatre, and the Stanley A. Milner branch of the Edmonton Public Library. The initiative is still on track for its revised $55-million budget.
Just beyond downtown, the report marks the Iron Works Building rehabilitation as 61% behind schedule as of Sept. 30. The city has since announced that the work on the Boyle Street building is complete, and Iron Works is now for sale.
Further afield, the Heritage Valley land development project is 59% over budget and 14% behind schedule in deep southwest Edmonton. The report notes difficulties getting services and access to the Heritage Valley school, making the project much more expensive than originally thought. It also points to a non-participating landowner in the area as part of the project's challenges.
Edmonton has experimented with accelerated construction practices on capital projects recently. The section between 105 Street and 121 Street along 104 Avenue NW reopened to two lanes of traffic on Dec. 9. An intensified closure of the stretch reduced disruption from 48 weeks to seven.
For more on the capital projects update, as well as traffic safety, extreme weather, and more, listen to the Dec. 12 episode of Speaking Municipally.
