During the Regular Council Meeting on May 9, 2022, Town Council voted to cancel the Downtown Dike Phase 1 tender to allow time to complete design revisions in an effort to save costs.
In early April, the Town issued a request for tenders for the Downtown Dike Phase 1 construction, along with additional Centennial Park improvements work, and a sidewalk at the Drumheller Valley Secondary School.
The tender closed on April 26, 2022. Due to rising costs and tight timelines, the dike construction component of both bids received exceeded the $1.4 million budget for Phase 1 construction.
“Council is committed to building the most effective protection system we can afford,” said Mayor Heather Colberg.
To identify options for additional savings, the Resiliency and Flood Mitigation Office is reviewing the overall Downtown dike design. The design teams are also examining other dike projects for potential savings opportunities.
Based on the tender pricing received and discussions with contractors, overall program costs are expected to exceed the available budget.
While the design teams are looking at a range of areas to save on costs, the dike will be built and the design flow rate will remain at 1,850 m3 /s, as set by the Province of Alberta.
To offset the financial impacts of volatile market conditions, requests for additional funding are underway with the Provincial and Federal Governments.
While design optimization work continues for the Downtown Dike, construction is now projected to proceed in 2023.
For more information, please contact the Resiliency and Flood Mitigation Office at: floodreadiness@drumheller.ca, or (403) 823-4878.