Major construction projects in the Drumheller Valley include replacing critical underground infrastructure servicing the northern neighbourhoods of Drumheller and the surrounding area.  

The North Drumheller River Crossing project, awarded to Wilco Contractors earlier this year, significantly upgrades the sanitary and water lines that go under the bed of the Red Deer River and realigns the force main connection to improve sanitary flow. This Capital Project, with a budget of $4.22M, is part of the Town of Drumheller’s asset management plan. 

Contractors are replacing 165 metres of sanitary force main and water line installed in the 1970s, which are approaching the end of the expected service life. Rather than an ‘open cut’ operation, where a trench would be exposed to replace the pipe, this project is installed through horizontal drilling, crossing the Red Deer River approximately 15 meters below the riverbed.  

The drill entry location is 4 Street West and is pulled through the system adjacent to the North Drumheller lift station, where a force main connection will be simultaneously repaired.

A force main is part of a municipal underground water/wastewater system. It provides the necessary power to move wastewater through sewer lines where working with gravity may not be possible. Improvements to this project also include new pump installation work at the North Drumheller Lift station to help support the force main construction. The new force main will also divert sewage that currently goes through the downtown pipes, alleviating the potential for sewer backups to those properties. 

This project is expected to be completed in the fall.