UPDATE 6:14 P.M. Oct. 11

Power to all buildings has been restored, starting with IGAC and Max Bell and then the remainder of the buildings. Happy long weekend, and stay safe!

UPDATE 1:18 P.M. Oct. 11

The power outage issue that began this morning has been fixed, thanks to quick work by Physical Plant. Buildings are starting to be restored and Physical Plant is cautiously optimistic that buildings should be fully back in service by about 4:00 p.m.

Please note that at approximately 8:00 a.m. on October 11, the Fort Garry campus began experiencing a power outage. Classes or labs in the affected buildings will not be held today.

Currently the buildings impacted are:

• Biological Sciences
• Max Bell
• IGAC
• Education #3
• Migizii Agamik

In order to restore power to these buildings, the following buildings will need to be shut down starting at 11:00 a.m.

• St Johns College
• St Pauls College
• Wallace Building
• Fitzgerald Building (now known as 55 Chancellor)
• Education #1 and #2
• Helen Glass Building
• Parkade

Power is expected to be restored to all buildings starting at 4:00 p.m.

This outage will impact activities in those buildings.

NOTE that Classes or labs in the affected buildings will not be held today.

Security Services personnel are currently assisting personnel in the impacted buildings.

If your building is currently not accessible, please visit the HR website to learn more about what to do during disruptions to the workplace.

Further updates will be posted here on UM Today, and can be followed on UM Twitter.

There will be no access to Alumni Lane via Freedman Cres. from Oct. 28 to Nov. 15. This has changed from the previous timeline. Please note that these are projected timelines that may change; updates will be provided as possible.

The work on the south side of campus near Drake Centre and Alumni Lane is part of Phase 2 of the Outfall No. 2 Reconstruction project. It includes reconstruction of the outfall chamber and pipe, and riverbank stabilization.

Between 7 AM and 7 PM, traffic flow will be impacted with occasional lane closures. Flag people will direct traffic as needed. Please plan accordingly.

Updates to the service disruption can be found here: http://umanitoba.ca/admin/vp_admin/ofp/ohrcm/accessibility/service-disruptions.html.

For additional information on the riverbank stabilization, please click here: news.umanitoba.ca/fort-garry-campus-riverbank-stabilization-and-infrastructure-repair-begins/nggallery/image/failed-section/

Update July 5: Closure will not take place on July 14. Watch for information regarding future closure pending further notice.

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Bell/MTS will crane new equipment on the north side of EITC E2 on Sunday July 14, 2019, 0600 hrs. to 2000 hrs, with a rain date of July 21, 2019.

Please see attached plan showing areas affected by this work.

Gillson Rd. at Dafoe Rd. along with Parking Lot “N” will require to close off for the duration, access provided for emergency vehicles only.

Questions or concerns regarding this disruption, please contact Robert Roy – rob.roy@umanitoba.ca or 204-223-9012.

UPDATE: Saturday, March 16, 8:45 p.m. The power has been restored to all buildings at the Fort Garry campus.

Saturday, March 16, 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM

Electrical power will be shut off for certain buildings at Fort Garry campus—including residence buildings and dining facilities, in addition to faculty buildings. This is an unplanned, unavoidable shutdown due to the Riverbank Stabilization Project.

Please power down computers or sensitive equipment before the shutdown.

Buildings: Mary Speechly, Pembina Hall, Pembina Residence, Drake, Tier, Fletcher Argue, Isbister, Art Barn, Point Plant Science, University College, University College Residence, Robson Hall, Human Ecology, Elizabeth Dafoe, B-Lot Trailers, Crop Tech Greenhouses                   

The residence buildings all have back-up generators for life safety systems. The life safety systems will be operational, including the fire alarm panel, emergency lighting, and sprinkler systems. There will be no room lighting or power.

Questions or concerns regarding this disruption can be directed to Vanessa Jukes, 204-996-5489, Vanessa.Jukes@umanitoba.ca.

For updates, please visit the service disruptions webpage.

Buildings list

Residences

Mary Speechly

Pembina Hall

Pembina Residence

University College Residence

Faculties/other buildings

Drake

Tier

Fletcher Argue

Isbister

Art Barn

Point Plant Science

University College

Robson Hall

Human Ecology

Elizabeth Dafoe Library

B-Lot Trailers

Crop Tech Greenhouses                   

During this construction, sidewalk and lane closures will be in effect from December 14 to January 2. Closures are as follows, and can be viewed on a map by clicking here.

• The sidewalk and crossing on the north side of Ralph Campbell Road between St. Paul’s College and IGAC
• The south bound lane of Sidney Smith Street at the corner of Ralph Campbell Road

Impacts to vehicular, bicycle, and pedestrian traffic are expected; please plan all travel accordingly. Barricades and safety signage will be clearly posted to safely direct all forms of traffic as required. Caution should be taken at all times during construction.

This excavation work is necessary to facilitate the installation of new electrical cable. On Saturday, December 22 between 7 AM and 7 PM (weather dependent), a planned electrical shutdown is scheduled for the following buildings to allow for the cable tie in. A backup date is scheduled for Friday, December 28, 2018.

• St. John’s College, Residence, & Schultz Theatre
• St. Paul’s College & Sinnott Building
• Wallace Building
• Fitzgerald Building
• Education Buildings 1 & 2
• Helen Glass Building
• Parkade
• Butler Hut
• Pan Am Stadium

The buildings identified above will be locked and not accessible during the shutdown.

If you have an office or workspace in any of the above buildings, please power down all equipment, close all windows, and turn off all lights prior to leaving on Friday, December 21, 2018.

Questions or concerns regarding this work can be directed to Vanessa Jukes, 204-996-5489 .

For updates, please visit our service disruption webpage.

UPDATE: July 11, 4:09 p.m.

As of 4 p.m., power to all buildings has been restored.  Education building has one air handling fan that had failed due to the outage, but the building remains operational.   

MINI U

Please note that Mini U pickups can proceed as usual at the Max Bell Fieldhouse. Any questions regarding this matter can be directed to 204-474-6359.

POWER OUTAGE UPDATE: July 11, 3:24 p.m.

If your building is currently not accessible, please visit the HR website to learn more about what to do during disruptions to the workplace.

July 11, 10:50 a.m.

Please note that Fort Garry campus has been experiencing a power outage. 

Due to external delays that will extend construction into fall, the Fort Garry Campus Road Renewal Program has changed to start at the north end of Saunderson Street/Dysart Road.

Construction will start on Monday, July 9 (previous date: June 25).

REVISED PLAN:

The University is commencing a road renewal program on Fort Garry campus, which will span approximately 5 years. Year 1 will include reconstruction of Freedman Crescent beginning east of King’s Drive to Saunderson Street/Dysart Road and terminating around Robson Hall.

Access to parking lots, buildings, intersections and drive aisles may be periodically impacted, but will be maintained throughout construction. Occasional delays should be anticipated. 

Construction starts Monday, July 9 at Saunderson St./Dysart Rd. east of Robson Hall.

• Access to Parking Lot B from the north side of campus will be closed for approximately 3 to 4 weeks.
• Parking Lot B can be accessed from the south side of campus via Freedman Cres.

Impacts to Event Day traffic will be minimized as much as possible.

Pedestrian and bicycle traffic will be slightly impacted throughout construction. Barricades and safety signage will be clearly posted to safely direct pedestrians, cyclists, and vehicles as required.

Caution should be taken at all times during construction. Your patience and cooperation to ensure everyone’s safety is appreciated.

UPDATED TIMELINE

Year 1 > Phase 1 – JULY 9: Saunderson Street/Dysart Road – north side

• Reconstruction of Saunderson Street/Dysart Road.
• Construction Starts Monday, July 9th (lasting approximately 3 to 4 weeks).
• Starting east of Robson Hall and terminating at Parking Lot B.
• Saunderson Street/Dysart Rd. will be closed within this area (see attached map).
• Access to Parking Lot B will be maintained throughout construction. 
• Access to Parking Lot B from the north side of campus will be closed for approximately 3 to 4 weeks.
• Parking Lot B can be accessed from the south side of campus via Freedman Cres.

Year 1 > Phase 2 – Freedman Crescent

• Reconstruction of King’s Drive to Service St. 7.
• Construction starts between July 31 and August 7 (lasting approximately 8 weeks).
• Work to be coordinated lane at a time; traffic will flow counter-clockwise. 
• Signage will be in place to direct traffic.

Year 1 > Phase 3 –  Saunderson Street – south side

• Reconstruction of Saunderson Street.
• Construction starts between September 24 and October 1 (lasting approximately 3 to 4 weeks).
• Starting east of the bus-staging area and terminating at Parking Lot B.
• Saunderson Street will be closed within this area (see attached map).
• Access to Parking Lot B will be maintained throughout construction. 

Sidewalks and pathways immediately adjacent to the roadway will be renewed as required. 

See map below (click to enlarge)

The current Fort Garry Campus road network (excluding SmartPark) consists of approximately 22,935 linear feet of roads, primarily asphalt-surface-treated roads except for a small portion that are a mix of concrete and asphalt topping.

Currently the road infrastructure is in various states of disrepair, with layers of patches and ongoing maintenance concerns. A comprehensive road condition assessment is in progress. Year 1 road construction (identified above) was selected due to its consistent profile, minimum disruption to traffic flow during construction and the long-term benefits provided.

A comprehensive road condition assessment is in progress and will include recommendations for road renewal priorities across campus. A follow-up story detailing future-year road renewal phasing will be posted on UM Today.

Should you have any questions, please contact Vanessa Jukes, MALA, CSLA, PMP, project manager, Architectural & Engineering Services, Physical Plant, at Vanessa [dot] Jukes [at] umanitoba [dot] ca

For further details and to stay informed about traffic impacts for vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists, please visit  the service disruption webpage

Every year, approximately 15,000 square feet of paving stones are re-leveled, which is quite a labour intensive undertaking. This includes lifting all the stones, which can range from as little as 1” to as large as 12” in size, excavating the sand, replacing and leveling the granular material, followed by compacting it and re-laying each paving stone.

This endeavor will be done rain or shine and will continue right up until classes resume in September. There may be disruptions in pathways at times, with the affected areas highlighted on the following map. This work will be completed in phases, with Priority 1 (orange triangles) being the main focus, followed by Priority 2 (pink circles).

As the work progresses, staff and students alike will notice the benefits with a vast improvement to exterior mobility and accessibility on campus and revitalized walkways we can all enjoy for years to come.

Map of paving stone re-leveling at Fort Garry Campus

Andrew Konowalchuk, associate vice-president (admin.), lauds staff for its effective response in finding and fixing the problem and keeping everyone apprised of timelines in an uncertain situation. He notes many campus members worked on various aspects of the response. The size and age of the university’s power grid can make repair challenging, and he adds that Physical Plant is completing a study reviewing upgrades to create a more stable electrical grid.

“I’d like to acknowledge all involved and thank them for their readiness and the work they did — especially given the large scale of the outage. The electrical team coordinated well to find the fault and get building groups up and running again,” says Konowalchuk. “It was all hands on deck.

“We also thank those affected for their patience,” he says.

Some employees were unable to access their workplace, and others were unable to work due to the lack of power. As power was gradually being restored to some buildings, others were without power for several hours. Other precautions were necessary to ensure that buildings that were without power were not negatively impacted by additional damage or lost research.

The human resources side of it

Greg Juliano, associate vice-president (human resources), says that when work is interrupted for short periods, the University generally tries to avoid the disruption having an impact on employees’ pay.  Employees should work with their manager or supervisor to determine what to do while the situation persists.

Options for managers in such situations include:

• Asking employees to find an alternative place to work on campus
• Sending employees home who are able to work remotely for the day
• Sending employees home and asking them to check in with the manager in a few hours. Most full-time staff with regular hours should be considered as working during this time (i.e., normal worked code when reporting time in VIP). 

Staff who are already booked to be away on vacation or sick time, he notes, should continue to be recorded as such. Any questions can be directed to HR Consultants.

The power outage started in the early hours of Wednesday, Feb. 21. Buildings affected were: Physical Plant; Stores Building; Mary Speechly Hall; Pembina Hall and Residence; Drake Centre; Tier; Isbister; Fletcher Argue; Biological Sciences; Max Bell; Investors Group Athletic Centre; Education Building;; Migizii Agamik – Bald Eagle Lodge; High Voltage Lab; Engineering 1; Engineering 2; Engineering 3; St. John’s College; St. Paul’s & Sinnott; Wallace; Helen Glass Centre for Nursing; the Parkade; and Fitzgerald Building.

Most buildings were back online by late afternoon, with all power restored by 6:00 p.m. Drake Building did suffer a large flood due to damaged infrastructure and lost a classroom for the week.

Read more about the outage. Keep up to date on any construction and status of buildings with the U of M’s service disruption page.