By Mark Squibb
Mount Pearl City council during the August 13th public meeting approved two change orders for different municipal projects.
Farrell’s Excavating had requested an additional $41,494, HST included, to account for manhole adjustments and additional flagger hours, for the Olympic Drive resurfacing project.
Councillor Jim Locke requested further clarification on the matter prior to the vote.
“Manhole adjustments are a part of normal street work, and maybe they have come through here, but this is not a common occurrence,” said Locke. “I don’t remember seeing a lot of change orders for manhole adjustments because they’re a part of the street work… So, could I get some clarity on what had to be done here and do we normally get change orders for manhole adjustments or is this something specific to this particular project?”
Planning Director Gerry Antle, who retired that Friday, allowed the request is not usual, but in this case, there was a good reason for it.
“In our unit price contracts for street upgrades, there is a standard amount for manhole adjustment, and I believe the number, if my memory serves right, is 300 millimetres of correction, or adjustment, to a manhole that’s in an existing street,” explained Antle. “And that’s based upon there being no extensive or further deterioration — we accommodate for a certain, if you want to call it a normal amount of deterioration, over time. In the case of Olympic Drive, during the course of the work, the extent of the deterioration was more extensive than what we would call our usual amount. And each manhole was indeed more extensive than 300 millimeters. It was significantly more.”
The initial tender was awarded to Farrell’s Excavating in the amount of $798,933, HST included, in July of 2023. Council has since approved $264,847 across nine change orders, bringing the total project cost to $1.06 million.
Council also approved the installation of a new safety handrail on Birch Avenue.
Councillor Bill Antle explained that a new storm sewer had been installed with a headwall adjacent to the walkway trail and small stream, and while the height of the headwall was below the standard that would require a safety handrail, the planning committee recommended installing a safety rail due to the location of the headwall.
Council approved the new safety rail, payable to Dexter Construction in the amount of $4,942, HST included.
