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EDMONTON GETS A FUNICULAR — AGAIN Many a great city has an outdoor funicular, and by that measure, Edmonton is about to join the ranks of Quebec City, Kyoto, Paris, Zurich, Budapest, and many others. This fall, Edmonton’s river valley funicular — a cable-propelled system that moves a tram along a steep track — will carry its first passengers up and down the embankment behind the Fairmont Hotel Macdonald. Connecting the city’s downtown to the trail system near the Low Level Bridge, the $24-million Mechanized River Valley Access (MRVA) is on time and within budget. The full project is a funicular and more. MRVA comprises a glass-enclosed funicular for up to 10 pedestrians and cyclists, a pedestrian bridge above Grierson Hill Road, a staircase, an elevator, and several seating areas and lookouts. The project was designed to provide river valley access for people unable to use the old wooden staircase. This is not Edmonton’s first funicular. The short- lived Edmonton Incline Railway operated from 1908 to 1911, moving people and goods between Ross Flats and downtown. And the nearby elevator in the Shaw Convention Centre downtown is a type of funicular, too. APEGA Members got a special sneak peek of the MRVA, during two tours put on by the Edmonton Branch in late August and early September. Contractor for the project is Graham Construction and prime consultant is DIALOG, both APEGA Permit Holders.
FUNICULAR TIMES AHEAD Edmonton’s Mechanized River Valley Access is nearly ready for its first customers.
PROVINCE ANNOUNCES WATER PROJECT FUNDING FOR 2017 AND ONWARD Clean drinking water and proper wastewater treatment in rural Alberta are receiving support. The Government of Alberta is providing $131 million in 2017 funding for critical water projects through two grant programs — Water for Life (W4L) and the Alberta Municipal Water/Wastewater Partnership (AMWWP). The grants will help improve water supply and wastewater treatment in counties, hamlets, towns, villages, and regions across the province. Examples include about $28 million to the County of Northern Lights for a Peace River regional waterline to
supply Dixonville; almost $5.5 million to the Town of Fairview for aeration systems in reservoirs; and, in the southern end of the province near Lethbridge, about $2.2 million to the Village of Nobleford for a wastewater lagoon upgrade.
The funding will support 29 projects. Over four years, the total provincial contribution will reach $474 million.
FALL 2017 PEG | 29
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