More than three months after construction on the fourth phase of the Downtown Rehabilitation Project began, the city says pedestrian access in portions of downtown could be back up and running by next week.
Business Ambassador Monty Haughian says as construction on deep infrastructure items like the storm and sanitary sewer lines continues to move east into the block between 99 Street and 98 Street block of 100 Avenue, they’ve been able to begin preparing the sidewalk bases, which will hopefully allow them to allow front access entrance to businesses sooner than later.
“On the south side of 100 Avenue, we should be reopening the front accesses to the businesses next week,” he says.
“It won’t be completed, there will be future closures to [finish] cement, but there will be a gravel base so pedestrians can access the front of the businesses next week.”
Haughian says despite being a record-setting summer when it comes to heat and humidity in the region, the weather hasn’t played a big role in slowing down construction on the $14 million project. He adds construction crews also significantly altered their gameplan during the late June and early July heatwave.
“It has been a really good year because we’ve had very few rain events to delay us significantly, essentially it’s been a good working season for construction,” he says.
“They compensated for that, when it was extremely hot, by starting at 4 a.m., so they could get those hours of work in prior to the heat really intensifying in the afternoon.”
Weather permitting, construction on the Downtown Rehabilitation Project is expected to wrap up in October.
