Reid Street construction will continue into phase II this week, with construction on the 400 block of Reid Street beginning Wednesday, June 20.
Sidewalks from St Laurent Avenue to Shepherd Avenue will remain open but the road will be closed to all traffic as crews begin pulverizing cement on Wednesday and Thursday. During pulverizing, the intersection of Reid Street and St Laurent Avenue will be closed, but will reopen for the majority of the construction period. Businesses will remain open.
The parking lot at Spirit Square will be closed for construction storage and staging, the City of Quesnel says in a press release.
READ MORE: Reid Street gets set for construction as contract awarded
Mayor Bob Simpson says there is still some uncertainty whether phase I, from Carson Avenue to St Laurent, will be open for traffic once phase II begins.
“Staff is sorting out whether phase I can be brought up to a place where they can have traffic on it and parking. We will get it resolved as soon as possible,” he tells the Observer.
But Simpson says phase I will not be paved until the entire project is complete.
“The intention of doing it in two phases was to prevent a full three block disruption. But we will not be paving until we can pave the whole street in a seamless fashion. Otherwise, you create seams and it invites it to deteriorate faster than it needs to.”
Crews will be permitted to work on phase II daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., to minimize disruption to residents in the area.
Eagle Rock Construction is replacing 1952 water mains below Reid Street. In conjunction with this, the street will be made more pedestrian friendly, by reducing two vehicle lanes to one oversized lane, widening sidewalks, and adding beautification efforts including new lighting and benches.
The project has a hard end-date of Sept. 20.
editor@quesnelobserver.com
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