The completion of a $3.6-million water main replacement project which involved storm and sanitary sewer improvements, new sidewalks and repaving is going well, according to EVB Engineering Project Manager Francois Lafleur.
The project which began last year was not completed by the time winter had begun, so work stopped until it could be resumed this spring.
According to Lafleur, sidewalks are currently being installed and should be completed within the next 1.5 to two weeks, after which stone will be brought in for the road, and the two base lifts of asphalt will be placed. Then landscaping (mostly sod reinstatement will take place), followed by a final lift of asphalt and line painting.
A completion date is hard to determine, Lafleur says, because much of the remaining work is weather-dependent, but work will definitely not run into December this time, he says.
When asked about the width of High Street, which many are saying is now narrower than it was before, Lafleur replied that the new road will be 7.0 metres wide (2 x 3.5-metre-wide lanes), which is in line with Canadian design standards for the road’s traffic volumes and speed, and it will be only a few inches smaller than what it was originally – about the width of a painted line.
People think it looks worse currently as the curbs are sitting high (they won’t be when the gravel/asphalt is installed), and because of the traffic barrels/cones, Lafleur said.
“We want to thank everyone for their patience, as we know this project has been a difficult one. We’ll soon be done though,” he ended.
The entire project got off to a late start in 2018 due to issues with one of the contractors not starting the job on time. The project involved installation of a new water main, updates to portions of the town’s sanitary and storm sewers, re-paving, new curbs and sidewalks and closure of Methot Street where it joined High Street, making Methot Street a two-way, dead-end street.
Most of the $3,688,350 project costs are being picked up by the Ontario provincial government.
