Times-Chronicle staff
The long-awaited Gallagher Lake siphon rerouting project has officially begun.
Town council members and construction crews were on hand Tuesday for a sod-turning ceremony at the site near Country Pines Mobile Home Park.
The $11.4 million project will see a section of irrigation canal rerouted around Gallagher Lake along Highway 97. The work starts north of Gallagher Lake before it follows the road parallel to the mobile home park, crossing the highway (south) along Gallagher Lake Frontage Road and proceeding to cross the highway again to meet up with the existing canal on the other side.
The project is slated for completion by November of 2021.
The province has pledged $5 million in funding, but the town still has to borrow approximately $6.48 million because there is no funding commitment from the federal government.
The project is necessary because a rock fall in 2016 damaged the canal, which requires a permanent fix.
Mayor Martin Johansen turns the first sod in the Gallagher Lake siphon repair project.
(Photo by Diane Vaykovich)
