Latest news with #contractor
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Outdoor ceiling collapses at Paul Reynolds Centre, forcing closure
The Paul Reynolds Community Centre in St. John's is going to be closed until further notice, after part of the entrance ceiling collapsed Friday evening. In a statement, City of St. John's spokesperson Jackie O'Brien said it was partial collapse, and that the facility is now closed for repairs and to secure the area. "The City takes safety concerns very seriously and will continue to investigate the cause of the incident," said O'Brien. The centre will remain closed over the weekend, with an update to be provided on Monday, June 28. Centre plagued by problems This is not the first structural problem the Centre has experienced since it opened in 2017. The centre had a delayed opening, after it experienced various construction delays. And a month after opening, the building's contractor sued the city of St. John's for $4.9M, stating that it owned them money. On the other hand, the city said the contractor failed to complete the centre on time. The suit was settled in 2024. In 2019, the city had to pay another $945K to repair the centre's HVAC system, after the centre experienced multiple closures due to a series of issues and repairs. Excessive moisture caused corrosion of the buildings infrastructure, forcing the closure of the pool area. The pool was closed again after it was determined that the building's ceiling-mounted sound panelling was in danger of collapsing into the pool below. The Paul Reynolds Community Centre officially opened in 2017, coming in at a cost of $32-million. Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Click here to visit our landing page.
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Outdoor ceiling collapses at Paul Reynolds Centre, forcing closure
The Paul Reynolds Community Centre in St. John's is going to be closed until further notice, after part of the entrance ceiling collapsed Friday evening. In a statement, City of St. John's spokesperson Jackie O'Brien said it was partial collapse, and that the facility is now closed for repairs and to secure the area. "The City takes safety concerns very seriously and will continue to investigate the cause of the incident," said O'Brien. The centre will remain closed over the weekend, with an update to be provided on Monday, June 28. Centre plagued by problems This is not the first structural problem the Centre has experienced since it opened in 2017. The centre had a delayed opening, after it experienced various construction delays. And a month after opening, the building's contractor sued the city of St. John's for $4.9M, stating that it owned them money. On the other hand, the city said the contractor failed to complete the centre on time. The suit was settled in 2024. In 2019, the city had to pay another $945K to repair the centre's HVAC system, after the centre experienced multiple closures due to a series of issues and repairs. Excessive moisture caused corrosion of the buildings infrastructure, forcing the closure of the pool area. The pool was closed again after it was determined that the building's ceiling-mounted sound panelling was in danger of collapsing into the pool below. The Paul Reynolds Community Centre officially opened in 2017, coming in at a cost of $32-million. Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Click here to visit our landing page.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
New Halifax elementary school won't be ready for September
The new St. Joseph's-Alexander McKay Elementary School in Halifax won't be ready for September, according to a message sent to families on Thursday. The original school building was demolished and its replacement was expected to open in 2023. Since then, the project has expanded, delaying its construction. "Unfortunately, the new SJAM will still not be ready to welcome students at the start of the 2025-26 school year," says the message from the Halifax Regional Centre for Education. "This is awful news and we share your disappointment. "We acknowledge how disruptive this news is, especially to your children and your family's plans for the next school year." The message goes on to say the Department of Public Works has been assured by the contractor that the school will be ready for students midway through the 2025-26 school year. It said the Halifax Regional Centre for Education would provide updates on project timelines. 'Unexpectedly complicated' "While these kinds of issues are not uncommon in the construction industry these days, we appreciate this project has been unexpectedly complicated," the message says. "The Department of Public Works has had the construction lead add more trades workers and contractors, and we have asked them to work overtime and on weekends to get the school open as quickly as possible." A followup message to families on Friday confirmed students will remain at École Beaufort until the new school is ready. Shortly before the message was sent to families, Jesse LeGallais, a parent of two children who attend St. Joseph's-Alexander McKay, told CBC Radio's Mainstreet Halifax that he was concerned about further delays. "Whether the excuses are valid or not, there has been abysmal communication from Public Works, there has been abysmal communication from the HRCE," LeGallais said. "They do send out updates, but those updates, I find, are unreliable." Advocating for the school "The Beaufort school isn't really fit to service," LeGallais said. It doesn't have a real gymnasium, it doesn't have a real music room, it doesn't have a library, it's got various issues that the staff and the teachers and principals are dealing with but there's only so much you can do," LeGallais said. He said the kids are being bused in and that extends his children's own day by up to an hour. He said it also cuts down on the amount of time parents have to interact with teachers and other parents. LeGallais said he knows of families who have pulled their children out because of the delays, but that's not something he's considering because his children have friends there and he likes the staff. "So, I think the best thing we can do is not give up on the school but to advocate on behalf of the school because if we can organize as parents and we can put enough pressure — things can get done." MORE TOP STORIES
CBC
2 days ago
- General
- CBC
New Halifax elementary school won't be ready for September
The new St. Joseph's-Alexander McKay Elementary School in Halifax won't be ready for September, according to a message sent to families on Thursday. The original school building was demolished and its replacement was expected to open in 2023. Since then, the project has expanded, delaying its construction. "Unfortunately, the new SJAM will still not be ready to welcome students at the start of the 2025-26 school year," says the message from the Halifax Regional Centre for Education. "This is awful news and we share your disappointment. "We acknowledge how disruptive this news is, especially to your children and your family's plans for the next school year." The message goes on to say the Department of Public Works has been assured by the contractor that the school will be ready for students midway through the 2025-26 school year. It said the Halifax Regional Centre for Education would provide updates on project timelines. 'Unexpectedly complicated' "While these kinds of issues are not uncommon in the construction industry these days, we appreciate this project has been unexpectedly complicated," the message says. "The Department of Public Works has had the construction lead add more trades workers and contractors, and we have asked them to work overtime and on weekends to get the school open as quickly as possible." A followup message to families on Friday confirmed students will remain at École Beaufort until the new school is ready. Shortly before the message was sent to families, Jesse LeGallais, a parent of two children who attend St. Joseph's-Alexander McKay, told CBC Radio's Mainstreet Halifax that he was concerned about further delays. "Whether the excuses are valid or not, there has been abysmal communication from Public Works, there has been abysmal communication from the HRCE," LeGallais said. "They do send out updates, but those updates, I find, are unreliable." Advocating for the school "The Beaufort school isn't really fit to service," LeGallais said. It doesn't have a real gymnasium, it doesn't have a real music room, it doesn't have a library, it's got various issues that the staff and the teachers and principals are dealing with but there's only so much you can do," LeGallais said. He said the kids are being bused in and that extends his children's own day by up to an hour. He said it also cuts down on the amount of time parents have to interact with teachers and other parents. LeGallais said he knows of families who have pulled their children out because of the delays, but that's not something he's considering because his children have friends there and he likes the staff. "So, I think the best thing we can do is not give up on the school but to advocate on behalf of the school because if we can organize as parents and we can put enough pressure — things can get done."
Associated Press
2 days ago
- General
- Associated Press
Air traffic controllers in Florida briefly lost radar after fiber optic line was cut
Air traffic controllers in Florida briefly lost their radar Friday after a fiber optic line was cut, but the outage didn't appear to lead to significant disruptions like what happened after similar outages around the Newark, New Jersey, airport this spring. Controllers were able to continue directing planes across five states in the Southeast because a backup system kicked in as designed. The Federal Aviation Administration said the radar center in Jacksonville, Florida, continued operating but on alert status because its primary communication line went down. A contractor was working on repairing the severed fiber line Friday afternoon. Authorities didn't specify what caused the severed fiber line or where it happened. The FAA didn't say exactly how long the radar was offline, but when air traffic controllers in a different facility in Philadelphia lost radar twice this spring it took 90 seconds for their systems to reboot after the system went down. Those incidents led to major disruptions at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey because five controllers went on trauma leave after those outages, and that facility in Philadelphia directs planes in and out of the airport. Hundreds of flights had to be cancelled in Newark because the remaining controllers couldn't safely handle every flight on the schedule. Operations at that airport have since improved significantly An FAA spokesperson said there was 'no loss of critical air traffic service' in Jacksonville because the backup system kicked in. That center is responsible for planes flying across roughly 160,000 square miles of airspace across most of Alabama, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina. The problems in Newark were blamed on the failure of aging copper wires that much of the nation's air traffic control system still relies on. Transportation officials said the Newark problems demonstrated the need for a multi-million-dollar overhaul of the system that they are lobbying Congress to approve.
