Green light for Phase 4 of 100 Street rebuild

Matt Preprost editor@ahnfsj.ca

Knappett Industries will continue the redevelopment of 100 Street through downtown Fort St. John this year.

City councillors awarded Monday an $8.23-million tender for a fourth phase of construction, north of 101 Avenue to north of 103 Avenue.

Work includes the upgrades of all underground utilities and the paving of 100 Street. The city says work will begin in early April.

The city budgeted $10.54 million for this year’s project, and says it again used a best value procurement process that “uses selected criteria to evaluate tender submissions not just the cost of construction.”

That includes a project and risk assessment plan, as well as interviews with proponents.

“This process has provided significant advantages to the municipality in past awards,” CAO Milo MacDonald wrote in a report to council. “It allows for multiple factors to be considered in addition to pricing which provides greater value for taxpayers on large or complex projects.”

City council approved a finalized plan for 100 Street redevelopment through downtown in 2019.

Work began in 2020, and Knappett Industries has built the first three phases up from 96 Avenue.

Work is planned to continue up to 105 Avenue, and includes the replacement of underground water and sewer lines that the city says were installed in the 1940s and 1950s.