With support from Canadian National railways, the pedestrian underpass at Hazel Ave and Highway 93A will go ahead this summer.

Director of environmental services Ken Quackenbush met with CN on May 20 to hammer out what the rail company will contribute to the project, as well as reviewing the design to ensure that it is adequate.

The meeting with CN went “real well,” said Quackenbush. “We went through a detailed design and kind of resolved a bunch of questions we had regarding access and conflicts with other utilities. The design review has been completed by CN and they had a few suggestions, but no major changes. So that’s good,” he said.

Although the project is yet to go to tender, it will during June, and Quackenbush said that “we’re still getting our final budget numbers together, but it looks like it’s basically what we’ve been saying for a while now.” The cost of the underpass will be in the $2.5 million range, he said.

Even though CN was initially unprepared to assist with the project, this is no longer the case. Mayor Richard Ireland, municipal manager George Krefting and Quackenbush met with Jim Vena, senior vice-president for the western region, to discuss the underpass issue over the Christmas holidays last year. “We weren’t making much progress until Christmas time when we had our meeting with Jim Vena and he really opened some doors and told his people, I guess, ‘this is a serious project, be cooperative’, and they certainly have ever since,” Quackenbush said.

According to Kevin Franchuk, CN spokesperson, “CN carefully reviewed the project and has offered the use of CN engineering equipment and expertise to help cut the cost to the taxpayers. These efforts will save a million dollars for the municipality,” he added.

Despite the fact that it is difficult to give an exact number on the level of CN’s contribution, said Quackenbush, “it’s a significant savings ... they’ve allowed us the operating windows to get in there and open-cut and drop the temporary [bridge] spans in.” The open-cut method, as opposed to tunneling is viewed to be the less expensive option, he said. Franchuk also stated that use of temporary bridge spans will “greatly assist with the construction of the underpass.”

Quackenbush is hoping to take the proposal to council on July 7 for approval and the tendering period for the contract will occur during June. “I’m hoping that by the end of July, we have some action on the ground here,” he said. “The plan is to be done in November,” said Quackenbush, adding that “it may mean there’s a bit of landscaping to finish up in the spring, but that will be it.”

The underpass will be three metres square, run 30 metres in length and be a sort of traditional rustic look, said Quackenbush. The underpass will be big enough for a car to pass through and “it will accommodate our tractor and Bobcat for snow clearing,” he said.

The next step is to get a crossing agreement that goes through Transport Canada, said Quackenbush, that he expects support for, given that Transport Canada has previously expressed concerns regarding the only level crossing in town.