Sleepless on South Market Street?

If you spot any bleary-eyed, irritable Saultites this month in the Boundary Road – South Market Street – Eastern Avenue neighbourhood, you might want to buy them an espresso.

City council will be asked on Monday to approve an all-day, all-night, all-summer lifting of the noise bylaw in that area.

Public works is seeking the exemption to allow what they describe as a "critical" storm sewer rehabilitation project to proceed there.

The $3.2-million job will repair sections of the storm sewer system that run from the intersection of Black Road and McNabb to Boundary and Bennett Boulevard.

The work is being done by Insituform Technologies Ltd. – the first company to commercialize cured-in-place pipe (CIPP), a trenchless way of making old pipes good as new by installing and curing a resin-containing liner.

With help from Hamilton-based Empipe Solutions Ltd. and Sault Ste. Marie's Trimount Construction Group, Insituform will repair 610 metres of 1050- to 1950-millimetre diameter storm sewers by CIPP lining and 460 meters of 1650- to 1800-millimetre diameter storm sewer by grouting.

"The CIPP lining is less disruptive and faster than traditional method but needs uninterrupted work during the curing state, which can take up to 24 hours," says Catherine Taddo, the city's manager of development and environmental engineering.

"Night activities are quieter but need some equipment running and crews present to monitor the process," Taddo says in a report written for Mayor Shoemaker and city councillors.

"Each individual CIPP liner on the project will necessitate the ability to work into the evening and through it when the liners are being installed."

But no one expects the work will take all summer.

In fact, the all-nighters are only expected to last a few days after the scheduled start date of Monday, June 17.

"All preparatory work can be carried out during normal working hours, but the day of actual install for each will require a continuous working window," Taddo says.

"To accommodate potential schedule changes necessary for successful completion, an exemption from the noise bylaw for the duration of the construction season is recommended, thereby avoiding potential delays and disruption to the project timeline."

"Allowing continuous work ensures the project proceeds as planned without compromising the integrity of the sewer repairs."

Monday's special city council meeting will be live-streamed on SooToday starting at 4:30 p.m.

That meeting will be followed by a joint meeting with the Michigan Sault's city commission starting at 5 p.m.