Capital Daily for Thursday, August 6

Eagle Wing Tours, the whale-watching outfit that's run out of Fisherman's Wharf since 1997, has been acquired by Colorado-based Pursuit Attractions and Hospitality for just under $24M.

Co-owner Brett Soberg told us he wasn't looking to sell. Roughly two years ago, around six companies came "out of the woodwork" with offers, and Pursuit rose to the top on values, not price.

Soberg set conditions before signing: keep the current team, keep the projects going on and off the water, and hold onto the company's Victoria roots. He and business partner Don Stewart, both "born and raised local boys," bought Eagle Wing back in 2005.

Both companies say it's business as usual. Soberg stays on as general manager and lead captain, and says he's having "too much fun" to leave.

Esquimalt is about to tear open Esquimalt Road, and rather than come back a second time for the water pipes, it's doing both jobs together. Work starts this week on Phase 2 of the Active Transportation and Underground Infrastructure Project, running from Lampson to Fraser and Admirals to Canteen.

Here's the logic. The township is pairing bike-lane upgrades with the aging utilities underneath, plus a City of Victoria watermain job in the same stretch, so the disruption lands once instead of three times. Two-way traffic holds through lane shifts from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., while the water work between Admirals and Lampson drops to single-lane alternating traffic from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The bill runs about $3.75 million from Esquimalt's capital budget, offset by $500,000 in development contributions and $484,000 from Victoria for its water infrastructure. Paving alone eats half of that.

Expect it to last into early fall. Signal shutdowns, paving days, and changed traffic patterns will go out through Esquimalt Alert.