Rossland’s multi-level collaboration

In 2006, when B.C.’s Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MOTI) advised the City of Rossland about its plans to resurface the stretch of Highway 3B that serves as Rossland’s main street, the City’s administration decided to piggyback some needed infrastructure upgrades onto that project.

“MOTI was very co-operative in giving us the time we needed before they started the resurfacing,” said Greg Granstrom, mayor of Rossland. “We were able to gather public input for the streetscape design, which is a big part of the project.”

The project

ISL Engineering and Land Services was hired to do project design and contract administration on behalf of the City. Copcan Contracting Ltd. was awarded the contract for the job, with Tim Ridge as project manager.

On May 8, 2012, the work started. Flag people took up their positions on Columbia Avenue—which is also part of Highway 3B—channelling traffic and up to 70 members of the work crew through the ever-changing work site. The residents of the city had a fascinating spectacle to observe through the 26 weeks that followed, as their main street underwent its makeover.

“It was definitely an interesting project,” said Ridge. “It had two components: the reconstruction of the highway and the reconstruction of the underground utilities. The main section of the work, on the highway, had a high volume of traffic to deal with, and we were putting in some fairly deep underground utilities to all the existing buildings on Columbia (Avenue) and Washington (Street), and trying to maintain access for all the businesses while digging very deep, large holes.”

Granstrom praised the businesses impacted.

“There’s no doubt that the construction was disruptive to businesses,” he said. “Kudos to the business community for understanding the necessity of this project.”

Working smart

Communication was key in keeping the work going smoothly and softening the impact of the disruption.

“We formed a communications task force that got input from the contractor, so that we had up-to-date information to pass on to the community every week,” said Granstrom. “People knew what was happening, where traffic might have to go and where parking would be available.”

The project's superintendent was Steve Kingsnorth, and Ridge said he was responsible for the day-to-day running of the job.

"He deserves a lot of credit for the communication on site," said Ridge. "He was the go-to guy for the business people, and he did a great job.”

Granstrom described the interactions between Copcan and the community of Rossland as neighbourly. Good working relationships were established between Copcan and the City crews, and the work progressed well in spite of a very wet June.

“We finished the work on schedule, which is one of the things I’m proudest of,” said Ridge. “We had some very good, quality, professional subcontractors who worked with us as an integral part of the team, and played an important part in getting the project finished on time.”

A great result

“There’s never a convenient time to do infrastructure work,” said Granstrom, “but it had to be done, and now we have a great place to do business. Our downtown streetscape is designed to look beautiful year round, and we’re looking forward to sharing it with our neighbours.”