Owen Sound Council has selected E.C. King Contracting as the company to complete road reconstruction along 8th Street East with upgrades at Ryerson Park.
The bid came in at just under $2.8-million.
Consulting fees, the cost of relocating hydro poles and the purchase of a home for $224,000 has caused the project’s overall price to balloon to $4.3-million.
The City’s Director of Operations, Ken Becking, tells Bayshore Broadcasting News the original budget was set at $4-million, but the scope of the undertaking has expanded.
He says between the overage on the rebuild of 8th Street East and underage for the upgrades to 3rd Avenue East — Grey County Road 15 — to East Bayshore Road, Owen Sound’s municipal staff expect to break even on the two projects.
The relocation of hydro poles along the construction route for 8th Street — from 5th Street to 7th Street — will cost approximately $305,000.
And consulting fees have already reached upwards of half a million dollars.
The Ontario government will contribute two million dollars towards the reconstruction work.
Becking expects shovels in the ground by Spring, with completion by December 2015.
Sections of Ryerson Park will closed during when upgrades begin in April or May.
Based on feedback from residents, Becking says much of the park’s open space will be kept, along with the popular tobogganing hill and the mature trees.
The playground will also be relocated and upgraded to include a playscape, saucer swings, traditional belt swings, a wooden play fort, slides and climbing installations.
E.C. King Contracting was chosen over Harold Sutherland Construction and the Maram Building Group for the reconstruction of 8th Street East.
