$1.8 million project gets underway in Rainy River

By Ken Johnston
Editor

Last Thursday travellers and residents along Highway 11 in Rainy River started to experience the benefits of $1.8 million dollars in community improvements.
For the residents living along the highway from First Street to Tower Road in Rainy River, the project will see brand new water and sewer lines installed over the next few months. Digging began last Thursday at the corner of First St. and Hwy. 11 and as of Monday morning sewer lines had been laid up to the curling club on the south side of the road.
For travellers there will be delays and detours as the summer progresses but when it is done the road will be brand new! The construction is being done by Makkinga Contracting and Equipment Rentals. They have hired several local labourers and flagmen. They will be working 10 days on and four off so work will take place on some weekends throughout the season.
At night there is traffic lights in place and one lane will be open for traffic. During the day flagmen will direct traffic through or around (via detours) the construction zone.
The water line will be installed on the north side of the highway. Residents in the construction zone will be tied into a temporary water line before the old one is disconnected.
The stretch of lines being replaced, were identified a few years ago, as being some of the worst shape lines in town. Then when infrastructure money became available, the town applied for assistance.
Town Clerk Veldron Vogan said of the $1,892,490.60 project cost the taxpayers are on the hook for one third of it. That works out to $630,830.20. The provincial and federal governments picking up the tab for the other two thirds ($1,261,660.40).
“It is all part of the Build Canada Community Infrastructure fund,” said Vogan Monday.
In addition to this water and sewer project, the town has been busily repairing and improving the underground infrastructure in other parts of the community. Last summer a new sewer lagoon, a third pond, was constructed north of town and this summer that project will be completed when a new lift station is installed at the bottom of Sixth St.
“The pumps (for the lift station) have been ordered. We hope they are in by mid-June,” said Vogan. Once they are in place and activated much of the problems experienced over the last number of years with basements flooding with sewage back up during big rain events should be eliminated.
The town of Rainy River was also under a government order not allowing the adding of new homes or businesses beyond the existing serviced lots in town before the new lagoon was added. Once the lift station is working it is expected that the town will be able to actively pursue new development here, whether it is commercial or residential.
Earlier this decade floodwaters damaged the middle blocks of town (First to Sixth St.) sewer lines. Disaster relief money paid for them to be replaced then, with Makkinga doing the work then as well.
Vogan said that this council has been actively working at getting the underground infrastructure repaired before concentrating on things like the roads. For that reason there will be no repaving of roads in the community other than the highway from First to Tower once the current construction is done.
She did say that businesses along Hwy. 11 will have access for customers and that signage will be up instructing people how to get to them.

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This week Environment Canada opened dialogue with municipalities across Canada on their new proposed federal wastewater regulations. In a press release this week it estimated that one in four wastewater systems will have to be rebuilt/replaced. However, RR Clerk Vogan said Monday, “From what I have read we will be ahead of the game with what we have done at the lagoon. Ontario’s standards have been tougher than other provinces (since Walkerton).” So the recent and current work should not have to be redone or have been in vain.