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The ‘big dig’ continues

By Rohan Somers

The excavation process for SAIT’s new underground parkade has reached a depth of six metres, just over halfway towards the final depth of the project a SAIT spokesperson said.

 The excavation which has taken place primarily on the west side of the construction site alongside the campus centre will go five metres deeper for a total depth of 11 meters, says Heidi Sparks, SAIT communications representative.

 Due to favorable weather over the last several weeks much progress has been achieved in the excavation process, with the estimated 20-month project still on schedule for a fall 2009 completion date.

 Excavation for the parkade, which will lie under a reinstalled Cohos Commons when completed, is expected to continue until April of this year, after which construction of the structure itself will begin.

 Following the excavation process PCL Construction will be bringing in two cranes for the construction of the parking structure, with a crane on the northern side of the site scheduled for May and a crane for the southern side of the site in June.

 The Cohos Commons parkade is one of the early steps in SAIT’s campus master plan which will see a new Trades and Technology complex built on the site of the now standing George Murdoch parkade.

 “The (underground) parkade is a key piece of infrastructure supporting SAIT’s master plan for growth over the next century,” said Sparks.

 The three storey parking structure will accommodate approximately 1,300 vehicles once completed.

 Information on the construction progress as well as updates for students will be made available for the duration of the project online at www.SAIT.ca/parkade.