Residents and business owners in downtown Port Coquitlam will hear plenty of banging over the next three to four months thanks to work being done on the recreation complex.
But the city's design-build partner for the $132-million construction project said the pile-driving is necessary and will be "short-term pain for long-term gain."
Stuart Kernaghan, Ventana Construction's marketing and communications manager, told The Tri-City News today (Tuesday) its stone-column densification method stopped in July after the company's contracted geotechnical engineer recommended it switch to pile-driving to support the weight of the new structure.
Ventana alerted city staff that month but it wasn't until Sept. 11 that letters were mailed to property owners about the pile-driving, which started on Monday.
Kristen Meersman, PoCo's director of engineering and public works, said the pile-driving will be split, with the first 475 piles hammered in this fall; another 350 piles will go in starting in spring 2019, over a two- to three-month period, she said.
During the first phase, pile-driving machines will run between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturdays (no work will happen on Sundays or on statutory holidays, according to a construction notice from city hall).
Kernaghan said the vibrations will be felt "up to 100 feet away" from the construction site, including inside the rec complex and at Terry Fox Library, and the noise even further away. "It'll be audible but not disruptive," he said, adding, "It's not our first choice but the ground conditions didn't allow us to do stone-column densification."
Kernaghan said the construction schedule for the five-year project won't be affected but Ventana is unsure if the budget will rise as a result as it's hoping insurance will cover the cost for the "unexpected situation." (Under design-build contracts, the successful bidder is responsible for any overruns; as in this case, PoCo taxpayers are not on the hook for delays or additional bills, Mayor Greg Moore said.)
Tomorrow (Wednesday), Ventana's project manager is expected to meet with stakeholders to talk about the progress of the rec centre, which when complete will include a leisure pool, three ice sheets, Terry Fox Library, Wilson Centre seniors' facility, a fitness centre, a childminding area and a gym — as well as other amenities — within a 205,000 sq. ft. facility.
Susanna Walden, executive director of the Downtown PoCo Business Improvement Association (BIA), said she'll be at the meeting and will inform BIA members of the results.
"We appreciate the city providing our businesses with a construction notice in advance," Walden told The Tri-City News by email today. "We realize the pile-driving is required for the construction."
Meersman said she has already had some feedback from area property owners.
"We're just asking for patience from the community," she said. "It is going to be a bit disruptive. We're not debating that but this is what's necessary to ensure that we get the best value and the structure is built to last."
Mayor Greg Moore, who said he heard the pounding while at the nearby West Coast Express station this morning, said he doesn't believe downtown businesses will be severely affected. "You'll be able to hear it, for sure, but it won't be such a sound that is annoying or unpleasant."
If it is, Moore vows city staff and Ventana will work with business operators. "We have no choice but to pile-drive," he said. "We tried an alternate solution first that just wasn't compacting the ground good enough."
• For more details about the PoCo rec complex update, visit portcoquitlam.ca/reccomplex.
