The Project

McNab Street is located south of the Grand River in Elora between High Street and Bridge Street. The proposed work is the replacement of approximately 870 m of 150mm cast iron watermain with 150mm PVC watermain. This watermain was installed in 1970 and has reached the end of its service life. McNab Street has had a history of breaks with 17 since 1999 with 8 since 2015. Given the break history of the watermain, this section of the system has been flagged for replacement.

Project Location

Engagement and Project Update - March 24, 2023

We want to thank everyone who participated in our online PIC for the McNab Street Watermain Replacement Project. The involvement from residents within the project area was amazing and we believe that the changes made to the original design will satisfy many of the comments made and themes that came out of the public engagement.

There were five major themes that emerged during the PIC that we would like to respond to:

The Proposed Pathway. The overwhelming majority of comments received were in support of a pathway, however the proposed precast curb and reflective bollards were largely disliked. In order to address these comments we have removed the precast curbs and reflective bollards from the design and will instead include line painting for delineation of the pathway. The material of the pathway (i.e., asphalt versus concrete) will be determined at the time of tender award.

Tree Removals. Originally the plan called for a total of 35 trees to be removed through the project area. Of those 35 trees, 8 were in poor health and recommended to be removed for public safety , 6 were 2” diameter or smaller, 1 had a high potential for disease, 1 was a sight line issue and 19 were in conflict with construction activities. With a focus on the 19 healthy trees to removed due to construction we looked at alternative installation methods, service relocations and adding affected trees to a post-construction watch list. With these methods we reduced the 19 trees to be removed to 8 as a direct result of construction.

Traffic Calming. To encourage drivers to travel at lower speeds, vehicle travels lanes are being reduced from the current width of 3.75m to a narrower width of 3.10m. Narrowing vehicle travel lanes is known to be effective in changing driver behaviour and encouraging lower speeds.

Street Parking. With the addition of the pathway and reduction of the driving lanes several questions/comments were received regarding how this would affect on street parking. In order for this pathway to function properly and discourage cars from parking over it while also maintaining the required 6m travel path for emergency services, parking will be restricted on both sides of McNab Street.

Creating an Urban Cross section complete with storm sewer, curb and sidewalk. With the proposed pathway, many residents asked why a full road reconstruction wasn’t being completed with a designated sidewalk. Township projects are prioritized based on the Township’s Asset Management Plan. The watermain on McNab Street is prone to frequent breaks, and as such replacement of this watermain was assigned a high priority in the Asset Management Plan. The budget needed to complete a full urbanization of McNab Street (i.e., with storm sewers, curb, gutter, and sidewalk) would more than double the cost of the project, and the project would need to be deferred to a later construction year. For more information on the Township’s Asset Management Plan, please use the following link: https://www.centrewellington.ca/en/township-services/asset-management.aspx

Winter Maintenance. Several comments were received with concern over snow removal on the proposed path and the space between the roadway and the Pathway. With the removal of the precast curb and bollards the snow removal will now be consistent with other streets within the Township with extended shoulders.

Termite Management. McNab Street has been flagged as a Termite Management Area as outlined in the Township's 2020 Termite Survey. With this in mind, the Township included a “Termite Barrier in Service Trenches” item within the construction contract. The contractor (Drexler Construction) subcontracted Balson Preventative Solutions to inject an environmentally safe product into the soil in areas that have been disturbed to create a barrier to stop the migration of termites. The subcontractor will be performing this work at all water service installations, underground utility relocations (hydro/bell) and fire hydrant installations. This barrier work will ensure that properties that have termite issues won't be able to move from that property into the road right of way and will protect those properties that do not have termites by creating a barrier to enter the property. The Township used the same approach during the Water Street reconstruction project in 2015 and in areas of the Township that are known to have termites.

Next Steps:

The Township has awarded the contract to Drexler Construction Ltd. with construction beginning mid-July. The next step will be the installation of the watermain with an anticipated completion date of December 15, 2023.

We want to hear from you!

If you have any questions or comments regarding the project, please contact one of the Project Team members:

Ryan Maiden
Township Project Manager
Township of Centre Wellington
519-846-9691 ext. 259
rmaiden@centrewellington.ca

David Donaldson, P.Eng.
Consultant Project Manager
Triton Engineering Services Limited
519-843-3920 ext. 232
ddonaldson@tritoneng.on.ca