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August 12, 2019

Big cost and challenges to major restoration of Alberta legislature

As reported on CBC News, to see the front of the stately Alberta legislature building, everything looks to be in place.

But walk around to the southwest side of the 106-year-old structure and a different picture emerges.

Shrouded in scaffolding and shrink wrap, a monumental repair job is underway to restore the crumbling building.

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The work is a continuation of the overall preservation strategy for the building, which began in 2012 when the terracotta dome was replaced, Alberta Infrastructure spokesperson Diane Carter said in an email.

A seven-week inspection in 2016 by the project’s primary consultant Rob Pacholok and another colleague discovered stones held together with everything from glue to wooden dowels.

When they were done, Pacholok said they had collected nine pails full of chipped and loose stones.

In January, a $20.5 million contract was awarded to Scorpio Masonry of Edmonton for the repair and restoration of the sandstone cladding and windows.

“The building looked in great shape but as we got up closer, we saw a lot of deficiency,” Pacholok said.

“I think we’re at 18,000 various deficiencies where there’s falling, chipping, cracking pieces ready to fall off or have fallen off,” he added.

It will take three years to complete the work of restoring the weathered sandstone to its original state.

Keep reading on CBC News