Delays in Wellington and Victoria reconstruction project leave area residents frustrated

The front walkway of Marlene Mackenzie’s Wellington Street Guest House has been partially torn up for nearly a year now as she awaited the completion of the delayed Wellington Street and Victoria Street reconstruction project.

By Galen Simmons, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Last week, the St. Marys Independent received a submission to our weekly Bravos and Boos section from a local resident frustrated over the impact delays in the final stages of the Wellington Steet and Victoria Street reconstruction project have had on their property and that of their neighbours.

The Boo, published in this week’s paper, reads as follows:

“Boo to the town in regards to the construction project at Wellington and Victoria Street. This project has been going on for close to a year. Nothing has been done for weeks now. Everybody’s front yards are all torn up. One would think that for the amount of taxes we have to pay, that the town would at least show some respect and finish what was started. St. Marys residents take pride in our community and we expect nothing less from you.”

For transparency, we at the Independent opted not to print the above Boo in last week’s paper and instead decided to follow up with the town to help area residents understand the delays to this project. We reached out to St. Marys infrastructure services manager Jeff Wolfe, who provided details about the $1.6-million reconstruction project and reasons as to why work has slowed in recent weeks.

Last year, the Independent reported that the town was working with OMEGA Contractors Inc. to reconstruct a section of Wellington Street South, spanning from Park Street to St. Maria Street, and Victoria Street spanning from Church Street South to Water Street South. The project is a continuation of the highly successful Wellington Street reconstruction project that spanned from the Wellington Street Bridge to Park Street East completed in 2023 that focused on making the downtown more accessible for people with disabilities.

Improvements in this second phase of the project included replacing a water main and copper water services, improving drainage with grading, installing new storm sewers and catch basins, and replacing the asphalt roadway.

“Topcoat asphalt and associated work was planned for June 2025, and all other works were originally to have been completed in fall 2024,” Wolfe told the Independent.

“The project was delayed in the fall of 2024 and pushed into early winter, and turf restoration was postponed until spring 2025 as a result. Concrete sidewalk deficiencies developed over the winter, and the associated re-work delayed the anticipated turf restoration. All underground and hard surfaces are now complete, topsoil has been prepared and turf is to be installed by July 18, weather pending.”

Wolfe explained the delayed start to the project last year was because of other projects the contractor was working on at the time.

Town staff expect all remaining work to be completed by the time this newspaper comes out July 24, and the town and its engineer will continue monitoring the project area for another year for any issues that develop post-construction.

While that may sound promising, at least one resident in the project area, Marlene Mackenzie, the owner of Wellington Street Guest House, is fed up with what she describes as shifting project timelines and the extended impacts of the project on her property and business.

“He’ll say next week; well he told me two weeks ago it was supposed to be done by that Friday,” Mackenzie said, describing a conversation she had with Wolfe. “I told him that my property would be on the (St. Marys Horticultural Society) garden tour. It’s been going on for three weeks; every time I talk to him, he goes, ‘Oh yeah, it will be done by this date.’ ”

Mackenzie said doesn’t understand why work hasn’t moved quicker when she believes there has been ample opportunity for it to be completed. The work is supposed to include the replacement of sod and the repair of a portion of her brick walkway leading up to her short-term accommodations business, however she said she has received mixed messages as to who will actually repair her walkway.

As summer is her busy season, she said this project has impacted her business as she’s been forced to require her guests to park on the street, and the uprooting of a portion of her walkway has also impacted accessibility for guests.

“This is the second summer that we’ve gone through this,” Mackenzie said.