Let the Construction Begin

Friday, June 25, 2010 02:54 PM

Councillor Cameron Stolz, Mayor Dan Rogers, Minister of Transportation Shirley Bond, Henry Remple, and Minister of Forests and Range Pat Bell, do the initial digging to mark the start of Boundary Road construction

Prince George. B.C. – With the toss of some gravel, the long awaited construction of Boundary Road in Prince George is set to begin.

Representatives from the City, Province and the private investors, took time this afternoon to celebrate the awarding of the construction contract to WIC construction and to kick off the work.

At a gathering just off Gunn Road, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, Shirley Bond, said the construction of Boundary road is a key element in the economic future of Northern B.C, “ Today says, we are ready for business , we are ready to move forward.”

That moving forward means the development of a logistics park and light industrial park. Some of the property is on lands owned by the Prince George Airport, while the bulk of the property is privately held. Henry Remple is one of the private land holders who have put up $6.5 million dollars towards the cost of the development of Boundary Road.

Boundary Road has been on the radar for the City of Prince George since the 1970’s. It is the first step in developing a ring road around Prince George that will keep heavy truck traffic out of the downtown core, provide a much quicker route between highway 97 south and highway 16 east, and will act as a dangerous goods route as well.

The overall cost of the project is $28 million, with the Federal and Provincial Government’s contributing $7.5 million each, while the City and Private land developers contributed $6.5 million each.

The construction of Boundary Road is expected to be a significant positive factor for Initiatives Prince George as it moves forward to sell the Logistics Park development on the Airport Lands. IPG CEO Tim McEwan says while there has been a great deal of interest expressed by Asian logistics companies, the actual construction of the road will show that the project is “real” . “This construction will open up 3,000 acres of light industrial lands” says McEwan who says the construction also marks the culmination of two years of work that involved everything from convincing the Agricultural Land reserve to release the properties from the ALR to convincing the senior levels of government that this was a project worthy of their financial support.

Construction of the Boundary Road intersection with highway 97 south will be completed as part of the Cariboo Connector upgrades already underway.

The two lane roadway is expected to be complete in the fall of 2011. Construction will include:

6.8 kms of undivided 2 lane roadway including bike lane
Pedestrian sidewalk complete with street lighting
storm, sanitary and watermains
new intersections at highway 16 East and Highway 97 South
roundabout intersection at current Boeing/Gunn Road intersection

Private land owner Henry Remple says he is hopeful of starting the first phase of his logistics park as soon as he has detailed information on his property’s access to Boundary Road.

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Posted on Friday, June 25, 2010 02:54 PM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: IMO on June 25 2010 3:14 PM

whatever!!

Posted by: Loki on June 25 2010 4:05 PM

good to see the only real stake holders are starting the real work.

Way to waste my tax dollars for the benefit of big business on the backs of the citizenry.

Posted by: gus on June 25 2010 4:56 PM

Loki ... you are so funny.

If big business or medium business or little wee tiny business does not make it there, we will all lose.

The dilemma is this:
If the city does not grow or keep pace to a relative constant population base by replacing industries (work positions) that are lost, such as we have been doing in the forest based industry since at least the 1980s, or creating additional work positions in order to grow, then we might as well fold up shop both as businesses, residents, and city government.

Cities have to help with creating the infrastructure and climate to maintain and increase vitality and viability. If it were left up to those traditional businesses we would be worse off now than 40 years ago.

It is very difficult to say action “A” resulted in consequence “B” whether it is a success or a failure. But this much I do know, in the climate in which the world operates in today, cities cannot afford to just let nature take its course.

Cities MUST play an active role in keeping themselves alive, the same as any business and any individual has to do.

Cities do not have special privileges. They must put their money where their mouth is and that means taking risks. Taking risks is part of life.

Posted by: gus on June 25 2010 4:59 PM

BTW ... now that you have brought it up, exactly how many of your tax dollars are going to this venture, Loki?

Posted by: gus on June 25 2010 5:07 PM

IMO ... I agree with your comment!!!

Another photo-op. The project has been followed for some time.

Other than when it is open and I can walk drive or skateboard on it, I do not want to hear any more about it until we know real buildings will be built. That is the primary purpose of this new piece of infrastructure.

This City has made an investment. I want to watch to see whether it will be a good investment or not.

If we it turns out that we should have invested in something else, then those responsible for making this investment will hear about it from many, I am sure.

So, all you wise people, what other thing should we have invested in instead of this?

Posted by: gus on June 25 2010 5:09 PM

BTW, I just noticed ALL the stakeholders are not there. Interesting.

Posted by: Retired on June 25 2010 5:22 PM

Cities do not have special privileges. They must put their money where their mouth is and that means taking risks. Taking risks is part of life.

I completely disagree with you on this Gus, Why would a City take risks with tax dollars? If Mr Remple wants to do a development project and make some money its up to him to provide the funds for the infrastructure that is needed to start his development.. What ever happened to free enterprise? Let it take, the risks.

Because it has become common practice for municipalities to use tax dollars for development and to forget about maintaining the existing infrastructure when 14% of the city budget is used to service the City debt.. They live on special levies to maintain the existing infrastructure,.

The Boundary Road is a complete waste of tax dollars. There already exists a connector between Highway #16 and #97 its called the Old Cariboo Highway.
Cheers

Posted by: Honestjoe on June 25 2010 5:53 PM

6.8 km for 28 million dollars computes to 4.12 million dollars per km. The City and private landowners are contributing 6.5 million dollars. How much is this costing the property owners of Prince George?
To Shirley Bond who never answers my letters: the shoulder of the Hart Highway at McDonalds is washing out again as I stated to you with photos and emails over the past year or so. Is YRB a strong contributor to your election campaign? They can't seem to repair defective roadways? Did you give YRB their 2% bonus, above the millions you now pay them? Shirley never misses a photo op but she always ignores the people in her riding. She is a very poor Highways Minister.

Posted by: gus on June 25 2010 7:25 PM

Retired.

Why would a city take risks with tax dollars? They do every day.

With respect to raods, the city develops the majority of the roads. That has been the job of this city since it was incorporated and will likely continue to be the job of the city for some time to come.

There has been a change with developing residential streets. At one time the city did those as well and sold residential properties at auctions to recoup their costs. But, they got out of the business just about the time when subdivision development was no longer as lucrative.

They take a risk when they do that. They are hoping that DCC of those who will develop the lots will pay for the arterials and collectors.

They even take a risk every time they maintain a road. They are investing dollars in infrastructure improvements when the population may suddenly diminsh. At the moment, that risk is low here. But it is higher in places like Tumbler Ridge and Mackenzie and even in large cities like Detroit where they may be closing sections of the city because it is too expensive to maintain access to a street that has a 20% occupancy rate when it used to be close to 100% and whose tax base has diminished accordingly.

Not too many think of those kinds of realities of the world.

Everytime they add or improve or maintain, they are takling a risk. Some are higher than others.

In the case of developing something new in the "hope" that it will increase the ability to support private enterprises, and that is what they virtually all are, they are likely taking the highest risk of all.

There is no such thing as a sure thing. Everything is a risk. They key is how well an organization manages their risk. It is a fine balance between taking very high risks and dying as a result and taking none and dying as a result.

Posted by: Palopu on June 25 2010 7:46 PM

Boundry Road is the road from and to nowhere.

Complete and total BS. I can understand Rempel wanting this road because it will front his property and he can start to build his new industrial park. So it makes sense for him. Other than that it makes no sense at all.

Unless you build a new bridge across the Fraser to connect with Highway 16 you are merely running traffic on Boundry rather than the Old Cariboo Highway. Not a real big difference. The amount of traffic from Highway 16 East to 16 West is next to nothing and certainly doesnt warrant a $28 Million expenditure.

I suspect that some business from the other Industrial Parks in Prince George will re-locate in the new light industrial park, however I see no new business locating in Prince George. The Airport itself would kill to get some business to locate on its land, however that is not likely.

Before anyone runs off at the mouth about having to build infrastructure to attract business let them give us something specific, like what business is going to locate here, when will they locate here, how many jobs will they produce, etc;etc; etc;.

I for one have had enough of the following gibberish from Politicians, IPG, Airport Authority etc;

1. We hope to see.

2. We would expect that

3. There are a number of options waiting to be finalized

4. We have signed a MOE

5. Things have slowed down in the Pearl River Delta, however we expect an upswing in the near future.

6. If we could get 10% of Anchorage Alaska business we would be on our way.

7. If we could get 4 Wide Body Cargo Planes a week to land in Prince George we would break even on our operating costs.

8. Build it and they will come.

9. Steig Hoeg is no longer with the Airport, but because we operate like a private business we cannot divulge the reasons for his leaving.

10. The PG Airport is owned by the Federal Government, and as such, we operate under the same rules and regulations as Federal Government entities.

11 Prince George has been named as the alternate airport for China Air, which has 10/15 flights per week to and from China. If Vancouver is totally fogged in we could get some business rerouted to Prince George.

12. If Mount St Helens erupts again, or starts to smoke real heavy we could get some re-route business from Anchorage.

13. If the dog didnt stop to pee he would have caught the rabbit.

14. **Wheres the Beef***

Posted by: Retired on June 25 2010 8:21 PM

Gus, what have you been smoking?
Cheers

Posted by: Papermaker on June 25 2010 9:19 PM

Does anyone else see these Action Plan signs and want to paint a butt right over those arrows??!!
Just like those arrows are being shoved right up there!!
A Royal Action Screwing Plan

Posted by: jakeadoo on June 26 2010 10:03 AM

I am going to withhold my opinion on this project until it has some time to unfold as I hope it will be beneficial to PG,but I still believe you need to complete it,by connecting Highway 16 West with Highway 97 South.Gus,I believe from reading your posts that you are a fairly intelligent person,however, how can one person know it all,when they always seem to be on their computer posting on this site,and not out in the real world learning about these things.It has also come to my attention at times,that you don't really need anyone else to post on this site,as you can carry on a conversation all on your own.

Posted by: gus on June 26 2010 10:52 AM

jakeadoo ....

You must have lots of time on your hand to monitor the site that closely. :-)

Some people have lots of depth in one area of specialty. That is the most common situation thse days in North America due to our pushing of specialization.

Others have lots of broad knowledge with very little depth. Those are typically manager types who make decisions based on the input of specialists.

I happen to have a broad range of both which is actually, as you have pointed out wih your post, not very beneficial at all since most people will not accept that.

Let's take boundary road and the bridge for example.

I arrived in PG in 1973. I came here as a project manager in a design/planning firm. I am not sure how long a southern bypass has been "on the books" for PG; which traffic study actually showed it for the first time. Steve Sintich would know that much better than I. Howver, I do know that it has been ther for many decades.

I also know, as should any reasonable person who is aware of what happens in this world, that there are rare projects which do not happen incrementally over time. There is simply not the political will or even the money to build a southern bypass now. However, anyone who knows the least beat about city planning and desire paths, will understand that if the population grows, a bridge accross the river at that point will not only be a link to at leas one "by pass", but also a main arterial for intra city traffic.

On the other matter .......

When I came to PG, there was no world wide web. Research had to be done by going to libraries and skimming through abstracts and key chapters of books, photocopying and compiling data to physically share wih others. Compared the cities I came from in Ontario, the information available to those who needed to do some research for practical applications was rather limited in PG, to say the least.

Being on this machine has been a gigantic step forward. That is an understatement. I am no longer trapped in a geographic hinterland to the extent I once was.

How can I make so many posts? I type relatively fast (that is why I make lots of typos - I typically do not take the time to proofread) and I am on the computer quite a long time each day since that is my "desk" for work. I can take it anywhere I wish to. Not even tied to a disk anymore. My breaks are opinion 250. Don't know why. It is an addiction, to be sure. There are far better discussion boards out there with considerably more depth and where I, like some on here, am totally challenged with the level of discussion which, of course, forces me into even more research.

I thought my learning curve was topping out at this time in my life. Far from it!!

Posted by: gus on June 26 2010 11:05 AM

BTW ... as I am given to understand, the reason why the weight scales are being built so far south of the city is that there is a second option for a southern bypass of the city which is just north of that weigh scale.

I suspect that if the time should ever come that there is a significant increase of development of extractive industries along Hwy 16 West that would generate indusrial road rather than rail traffic, that link will have some pressure to get built even before the more intra city link at Sintich/Boundary Road.

Posted by: Harbinger on June 26 2010 6:41 PM

If they build a bridge across the Fraser there, will it be tolled? How much? Maybe put a casino annex on the Highway 16 side of the bridge.

Posted by: Andyfreeze on June 26 2010 6:54 PM

Is there ever a picture that Shirley Bond and Pat Bell are NOT in?
Really...it's a little much!

Posted by: RIP commonsense on June 26 2010 7:14 PM

Andyfreeze
Is there anything posted that you can't include a comment on Pat Bell, Shirley Bond or Gordon Campbell?
We have bets on how Andyfreeze will comment no matter how disconnected the subject may be.
Do you have any other thoughs or is this the all consuming fabric of your existence?

Posted by: supertech on June 26 2010 10:04 PM

The Boundary Rd project will be a boom for the property owners on the hill overlooking the city. That property, with a new road at the citys expense, was planned for just that. Presently there is nothing up there but clay and a youth containment center. I expect it will become coveted residential housing. And the statement about the city not wasting our tax dollars; wow, let me count the ways. Cenotaph 2 new lawns, in the same location within 7 months? Garbage pickup that was going to save us millions over 5 years (check the new price). An underground parking lot for a casino which returned none of our investment. So now we buy the building. The old auto body shop waiting for the city to spend more money on - maybe a new needle exchange. RCMP need a new building?? What was wrong with the Casino we just bought? It even had underground parking. I think the city is spending like drunks. Lets hire some new councillors (except for Skakun).

Posted by: seamutt on June 26 2010 11:29 PM

Gus since you brought up the topic of the weigh scales do you or anybody know why it is being built at that location? Why not a little further south on the four lane. I would think it would have been a lot cheaper. I heard that it is way overbudget. Looks like an interesting road in the winter.

Posted by: jales4 on June 27 2010 10:11 AM

I want to say that I think Gus provides great value to this site. His responses are well researched, often explain both sides of an issue, and are always on topic and polite.

Posted by: gus on June 27 2010 12:54 PM

Seamutt ... I do not know why that specific location. Too many criteria go into that choice for me to even hazard a reasonable guess.

Also have no clue what the problem has been to get it finished on time. The most common situation in such projects is that Geotech reports may not match the found conditions. If that were to be the case, that is not the contractor's fault so extras are legitimate.

Posted by: Dragonmaster on June 27 2010 2:40 PM

Thats right Gus, build it and they will come. Thats a pile of you know what. Loki is right.

Using taxdollars to build infrastructure for nonexistant industry/business is nothing more than gambling with our taxdollars and is most likely being spent to benefit particular people in this city.

Get it in writing then we will build it!

jales4 sounds like an easily fooled person or lives with Gus.

Posted by: Dragonmaster on June 27 2010 2:47 PM

RIP commonsense

Who are you to say who can comment on what?

Posted by: Dragonmaster on June 27 2010 2:51 PM

Seamutt
One of the major reasons the weighscale is over budget is due to nonunion contractors doing the work.

Posted by: gus on June 27 2010 3:22 PM

"One of the major reasons the weighscale is over budget is due to nonunion contractors doing the work.

It is easy to write, Dragonmaster. Can you please verify that is the reason?

Posted by: gus on June 27 2010 3:31 PM

Dargonmaster .. "Using taxdollars to build infrastructure for nonexistant industry/business is nothing more than gambling with our taxdollars"

Well, it is that if you call taking a calculated and standard risk gambling. Some people prefer to call it investing in the city's capacity to attract business. It is the standard of operating an enterprise, investing in the enterprise.

In this case the enterprise is "owned" by the public, run by a Board of Directors (City Council), who are voted into office by the citizen members of the City.

It is how we do business for publicly owned companies as well as societies and all senior forms of government we have.

Got a better way, then start a counter movement.

Posted by: Dragonmaster on June 27 2010 6:17 PM

"The most common situation in such projects is that Geotech reports may not match the found condition"

It is easy to write Gus. Can you please verify that is the reason?

Posted by: RIP commonsense on June 27 2010 7:06 PM

Dragonmaster
Just commenting on a comment, same as you are commenting on Gus's comment.
On opinion 250 we comment on comments.
We voice our opinion without trying to get our nose out of joint.

Posted by: gus on June 27 2010 7:45 PM

Sure.... best example everyone in this town is aware of is the road up to the university. In fact, it was the subject of lawsuits if I recall correctly.

Posted by: gus on June 27 2010 8:03 PM

http://books.google.ca/books?id=75sZNS7cOe4C&pg=PA134&lpg=PA134&dq=subsurface+conditions+in+civil+works+projects+risk&source=bl&ots=-T2PcVWnHM&sig=LuZ0-0SvU33msEtrY41VS6XwM9k&hl=en&ei=hQ4oTNqfHeXrnQeEwJziBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CDQQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=subsurface%20conditions%20in%20civil%20works%20projects%20risk&f=false

Go back to read page 133 part 4 Geological risk in construction contracts.

One of the ways to provide a fair contract for both parties is for the contract to include unit prices for work that was unforseen. Subsurface condition changes are normal for civil works that depend on work with soils and deeper underground conditions such as occurs with tunneling. Therefore such contracts take that into consideration.

Posted by: Palopu on June 27 2010 8:11 PM

The University should have never been located where it is. It probably should have been located where the soccer fields are on 15th and Ospika, or in that area.

The road to the University from 15th Avenue cost $18 Million dollars to build, and was and is a bloody disaster. They rushed getting the job done because the Queen was coming to town, to go to the University, and they wanted it to look good.

That road and hill is still slipping, and because the hill is basically sand and gravel left from the ice age, it will continue to slip foreever. Hardly a brilliant place to put a University.

I suspect that putting the University where it is, set things up for the City to supply sewer and water, and then of course developers around the University started to build. Was the University built because of educational needs, or was it a front for real estate and developer needs?

With the exception of an expansion at Endako Mines, the long term plan for one or two new mines on Highway 37, and the remote ;possibility that Rio Tinto Alcan will build a new plant in Kitimat, there is nothing of any significance going on from Cache Creek, to Ft St John, to Prince Rupert. Except population decreases.

If you are waiting for an increae in business on Highway 16 West before you build a bridge across the Fraser, you will have a long, long, wait.

Politics, and the need to get re-elected will get you this bridge must faster than actual need. Seems this is the main driving force behind all money being spent in this area in the last 20 years. Government money. Very little private money.

Posted by: gus on June 27 2010 8:18 PM

Dragonmaster... as far as verifying that the reason for the dealy and cost overrun is due to subsoil conditions, I am afraid I am not associated with the project so I cannot do that. Please read the statement I made carefully. I said it was a common reason for such projects to have cost and time overruns.

As opposed to your statement:

"One of the major reasons the weighscale is over budget is due to nonunion contractors doing the work".

That statement is very specific to the project. Non-union contractors ARE one of the MAJOR reasons for being over budget.

Still have not been able to confirm tht for me, have you. You deflected that with a question. Are you a politician by any chance ... :-)

Posted by: gus on June 27 2010 8:21 PM

Oh good LORD!!!!! I opened up a whole can of worms of some more unfounded rhetoric from Palopu......

There will be more roads, well, at least one more to go up the hill if this city ever grows.

Posted by: gus on June 27 2010 8:29 PM

"That road and hill is still slipping"

I agree with that. We have not had enough sustained rain such as we got in the first few years that caused the surface of the cut above the road to subside in places.

If you want to see what should have been done there, look at the construction of the 4 laning of HWY97 south as it goes up the hill towards the airport.

On the left hand side, going up, are proper mass retaining walls with horizontal anchors into the ground, a leaning design to the wall, and proper drainage channels behind the walls.

We are stuck with the geology we have. We could, of course, have built all of the city on the plateau and bridged the valley.

Orr better still, dammed the river, as was once proposed, flood the valley they way it oncve was, and sell the hyro power to the USA.......

Bet ya some are wondering now what Palopu will do with that one now .... LOL

Posted by: gus on June 27 2010 11:42 PM

Some "inside" anecdotal information from those who are in the construction business.

http://www.greatpossibilities.com/ubb/Forum29/HTML/000044.html