Work continues on the arena barrel roof at Western Financial Place, which began six weeks ago and is expected to be watertight by mid-June and fully finished by early August.
A consultant has opened and explored most of the unknown areas of the roof and advised that there should not be any new concerns following the roof replacement and soffit remediation, according to a city press release.
The project is budgeted at $3.55 million, with $1.26 million provided by the federal government through the federal gas tax program.
In the COVID-19 era, contractors have been working under updated health and safety regulations and directives issued by the province.
“The contractors have been hard at it and have been following enhanced safe work practices due to COVID- 19. Even though the workplace challenges have increased with COVID-19, the project is proceeding on schedule and within budget,” said Stacy Paulsen, Facility Operations Manager. “We look forward to a watertight facility once the project is complete.”
The city expects that roof construction will not impact ice-making around the start of hockey season. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, reopening time frames and protocols at the arena facility will be dependent on guidelines and recommendations issued by the Province, WorkSafeBC and Interior Health.
Other capital improvements underway at the arena include new rink boards and glass, new video scoreboard and a new refrigeration chiller/heat exchanger. All of those projects have been tendered out and are expected to be completed by the end of August.
The work on the arena barrel roof follows the replacement of roof structures on the Aquatic Centre, lobby, change rooms and other sections of the complex. That area was completed last fall by New Dawn Development, which was awarded a $1.7 million tender to complete the project.
The entire Western Financial Place complex features approximately 16 different roofing structures.