Road construction companies are working hard to complete their projects before the end of the season. Tollestrup Construction Incorporated is one of the many companies in Lethbridge making an effort to wrap everything up.
Project Manager DJ Harris says the weather is working against them right now and they are doing their best to finish up the jobs they have. Once winter hits, construction sites must be safe for the general public so traffic can flow smoothly throughout the winter.
“We have to make sites safe for the general public and if we do have any work carrying over off a site, we have to drag it into the next year. If that happens we have to talk to the right personnel to be able to do that,” Harris said.
Construction sites have to be maintained throughout the winter if they are not completed before the ground is frozen. Having to take care of a site over the winter costs companies a lot of money having to send out employees to ensure everything is safe and organized.
“We have to take care of our sites, we definitely don’t want to be in a situation where we have to maintain a site throughout the winter. It costs us a lot of money to send guys out during that time to keep everything organized and keep it safe for the general public. Having lanes closed off costs us money too because the city needs them open so traffic has more room to drive smoothly,” Harris said.
Crew foremen are pushing crews to work longer hours right now to wrap sites up before the ground freezes. Tollestrup’s concrete crew foreman Patrick Poole said that he can’t stress enough how important it is to meet the timelines of construction contracts.
“It affects everyone not just traffic vehicle wise but also the foot traffic around the city. For people who have disabilities, construction makes their life a lot harder trying to go around our sites. So, we’re always pushing guys to get in and out as fast as possible to meet deadlines,” says Poole.
The season for road construction usually starts in April and comes to an end near mid-November early December. This leaves crews with only a few weeks left to add the final pieces to their projects for the 2018 season.