Councillor Gord Perks has informed us that City staff now plan to repair the sanitary sewers during the 2009-10 reconstruction of Roncesvalles. For those keeping track, that now makes four major projects that will be part of the repair: 1) the sewers, 2) the lead water main replacements, 3) the sidewalks and 4) the TTC streetcar tracks. Obviously, it is more efficient to repair all of these items at once, but it means that the total project time will now stretch from 12 months to 15 months, possibly longer, and will likely begin in July 2009 rather than September.

Despite the additional repair time, there are some silver linings, according to a City engineer working on the project.

First, a number of businesses on the west side of Roncesvalles have complained of basement flooding during rainstorms. Since some of the sewers are combined storm/sanitary sewers,  these flooding issues should be at least partly resolved by the sewer repairs.

Second, the sewer and water main repair phase of the project (which will likely end by December 2009) will not be nearly as disruptive as later phases. Repair equipment will not need to be stored on Roncesvalles, and the trenches dug for the pipes will be filled in or covered at the end of each day. It is even possible that the BIA will be able to hold its annual Polish Festival.

The BIA will report all additional project details as we learn more.