Cochrane's transit hub and connection between historic downtown and the Quarry will be complete by late summer, in line with the town's original estimate.
There is still much to be done before the Station at Cochrane Crossing project can open to the public, but town manager of corporate properties Greg Barsi said the progress of constructions crews is still very much on track despite unexpected remediation work needed due to a ground contamination discovery made last summer.
"Construction is rapidly advancing and the interior rough-ins are nearing completion which will allow for us to close up the walls and start interior finishing and installation of HVAC components," he said.
"If you were to drive by the building you'd see there's frames there for the cladding on the east side. The building envelope work also continues to advance on schedule, including installing the cladding and blast curtains."
With spring approaching, crews can begin looking at the commencement of other work scopes such as paving a short-term parking and moving area, hardscaping and landscaping around the building and throughout the site, as well as the installation of a CP Rail crossing and pathway through the Cochrane Provincial Court site, once ground conditions allow.
"The majority of construction activity at the Station site, CP crossing and provincial site is scheduled to wrap up by late summer," said Barsi. "With substantial completion of the facility, some time is going to be required to furnish the facility and get communication systems connected and commissioned."
Barsi said there will be a point in time where community members may drive by and deem the building complete but wonder why it hasn't opened yet.
"There's always a period of time once we receive the handover from our general contractor, where we now need to furnish the facility and again, hook up systems and commission them to be ready to receive the public," he said.
To ensure this process is smooth, interim director of planning and development services Mike Korman said they're working to make sure the building is set up for staffing and meeting with partners to program the site.
The Cochrane Public Library plans to run computer programming classes out of the building, Cochrane Tourism plans to utilize the transit hub for its business mentorship program and Innovate Cochrane plans to begin its work there identifying unmet needs for innovation in the community, with structure and programming to take shape from that.
It will also serve as the new home of the Visitor Information Centre.
"We're excited for that because it is the connection between the historic downtown and will provide washroom facilities in that very busy tourist corridor, as well as the opportunity to provide information to tourists that are coming off the regional transit line," said Korman.
"It will increase our exposure quite a lot."
The Station already has an operational stop for COLT buses, said Barsi. Once it officially opens, it will serve as the local service integration with Southland Transportation's regional On-It service. More information regarding available regional stops is expected at a later date.
Beginning March 24, Stoney Nakoda First Nation's Swift transit bus will also begin their pilot service with a stop at the south side of the library, across the street from the hub, connecting the two communities.
Barsi said the town will be hiring two new employees at the Station, at a cost of $92,000 for both customer service representatives according to the 2022 budget.
"We want to make sure we have people trained and ready to go before opening," he said. "We are currently assessing when we should start hiring."
Once the positions become available, they will be posted to the town's job site.
The $4.85 million, 7,700 square foot Station is being funded by GreenTRIP in the amount of $2.9 million, a Municipal Sustainability Initiative grant in the amount of $1.3 million, a GreenTRIP bus shelter/bus stop fund in the amount of $400,000 and $250,000 is being contributed from an approved crossing project.
A parcel of land has also been left open at the site for a train platform in the event a Calgary Airport-Banff passenger rail is built to allow for a seamless integration with the transit hub.
There will be a ribbon cutting once the building is ready for public use. An official opening date has not been set yet.
For more information visit cochrane.ca.
