Waterfront Toronto says underground work will delay putting the finishing touches on a major revitalization project ahead of the Pan Am Games this summer.

CEO John Campbell said Thursday that work by Toronto Hydro on the Queens Quay renewal have set back plans to finish the job before July — delays the corporation knew about in November but only reported at a board meeting this week.

The problem area centres on a stretch of road at Rees St. — part of the major resurfacing and enhancements that include new greenery and installation of granite sidewalks. Toronto Hydro recently said it needs more time to install increased power supply to the area for future use.

“We won’t have enough time between their finishing and the Games, or the end of June, shall we say, to finish our permanent finishes at that one intersection,” Campbell told CBC’s Metro Morning.

Campbell stressed that the project will be completed as planned, but contractors will have to go back to make the final finishes after the Games are over.

Waterfront spokesperson Andrew Hilton said the impact on public use will be non-existent. The delay, he said, means some stretches of sidewalk, approximately 470 square metres, will be covered in asphalt — which will be ripped up to later to install granite and paving stones. In some areas, landscaping, including three trees of a total 240 to be planted, won’t be completed.

“It will have no impact at all. The only impact it will have is aesthetic,” Hilton said.

He said Waterfront knew about the work in November, but that it “took us some time to understand what that delay meant for Waterfront Toronto's work and what options we have for putting in temporary or permanent finishes.”

Hilton said they couldn’t speak for why Toronto Hydro needed to do this work now, with Campbell stressing the project is still “effectively” on time.

Toronto Hydro spokesperson Brian Buchan said the decision was made late last year that the extra power was needed. The delay in making that decision stems from the “juggling act” involved with the project with many agencies involved, he said. Buchan said hydro workers weren’t able to access the site until after TTC finished its work on the waterfront streetcar line in November.

“At that point we let Waterfront Toronto know the area needed some additional work for power needs for today and the future,” he said. “If we didn’t do it, it would cause more construction work. We’d have to rip up the street again.”

Buchan said there is an underground vault at the intersection that carries power supply to the area, which needs work to increase the supply. He said the area will be “safe” and “functional” for the Games.

News of the delay comes after Waterfront announced in December the project budget had been increased by $35 million at a secret meeting, bringing the total to $128.9 million. It’s not clear yet if the current delays will further affect costs. Waterfront only reported those cost overruns 10 months after its board voted in favour of the increase.

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