Construction for the new Drayton Valley/Brazeau aquatic facility will continue through the winter, says program manager Annette Driessen.
The construction of the facility has been underway since the fall of 2020. Driessen says the dry conditions this summer helped to move the construction along well.
Right now, the crews are working on the sub-basement, which will hold the mechanical for the pool.
Once the structure has been closed in, workers will begin digging out the basins for the pools. With all four walls and a roof up, the area will be warm enough to dig, regardless of the weather outside.
“All of the structure itself is up, all of the foundation work is done, and all of the pilings are done,” says Driessen. “Because they have the space heated up, that ground won’t freeze.”
After the basins are dug, they will pour the concrete. Driessen says that they will be using concrete trucks with pipe extensions to pour the concrete inside.
“They’re not taking any breaks,” says Driessen.
As the work progresses, there will be several different contractors working alongside each other. She says this will allow construction of all areas to proceed at the same time.
So far, the building is on schedule to open in the fall of 2022. Driessen says for the most part they have remained on schedule, but due to Covid restrictions, there was a bit of a delay. Government restrictions meant that only so many workers could be working at any given time.
Driessen says the funding for the Aquatic Centre is on a tight budget. For that reason, they are still fundraising for different aspects in the pool. For example, the facility is still looking for a naming sponsor. It’s also still fundraising for a water slide inside the pool.
Driessen says that if there is no sponsor for naming the facility, then the decision on the name will be up to the Town of Drayton Valley and the County of Brazeau.
