WATERLOO REGION — The Region of Waterloo’s express bus system in Cambridge is about six months behind schedule and may cost more than expected after a series of unexpected snags.
The $5.8-million project to construct bus shelters, queue-jump lanes and complete other work for the new express bus system was supposed to be complete in December at the time the project was awarded June 25 last year.
Construction is now expected to be finished in July with express buses running in September.
Thomas Schmidt, commissioner of transportation and environmental services, said all work should wrap up in about eight weeks, including construction at the congested Delta intersection at Dundas, Water, Hespeler and Coronation that’s raising the ire of motorists.
“We are targeting having all of the work done on the stations by the end of July, that’s 100 per cent by July 31,” Schmidt said. “The Delta/Dundas one which is, I think, the one people are commenting on there is concrete work in progress but we are expecting that complete as per the target.”
Work at the Ainslie Street Transit Terminal is complete, Can Amera Parkway is almost complete with some electrical work and landscaping still to be done.
Hespeler Road at Munch Avenue should be done by the end of June and Hespeler at Eagle Street and at Pinebush Road still needs median islands, landscaping, crack sealing and pavement markings.
Regional Coun. Karl Kiefer, who represents Cambridge, said he’s been hearing from residents frustrated by the roadwork.
“People know that it’s happening and people are frustrated — including myself — but I think they know that it’s going to be done soon and things will get back to a so-called normal flow,” he said.
When the region’s rapid transit project was initially approved June 15, 2011 staff said express buses could launch in 2012, according to a staff report.
The project got behind schedule last year after old concrete foundations the region didn’t know about were discovered at the Delta intersection.
As well, utility locations at some of the stops were not where they were supposed to be. When the region dug down to relocate the utilities they were too close to planned foundations for the bus stops.
Schmidt said there’s perception among residents that the region doesn’t do locates before it digs, however that isn’t the case. Unfortunately there’s give and take of about one metre.
“I know people think we don’t look for stuff like that, we actually do … but you just don’t know exactly where it is until you’ve dug down to it,” Schmidt said.
The cost of the additional work isn’t yet known but it’s expected to be more than the $5.8-million contract awarded last year.
“If this is extra work, if this is above and beyond, then that would be an extra cost,” Schmidt said.
Express buses are expected to run 17 kilometres from Fairview Park mall in Kitchener to the Ainslie Street Transit terminal starting in September.
The buses are part of the region’s rapid transit project which will also see light rail trains run from Conestoga Mall in Waterloo to Fairview Park mall starting in 2017.
pdesmond@therecord.com , Twitter: @DesmondRecord