
By Galen Simmons
After a slight delay caused by heavy rain earlier in the summer, work on the reconstruction of sections of Wellington Street South and Victoria Street has begun.
The project, which spans from Park Street to St. Maria Street on Wellington Street South and from Church Street South to Water Street South on Victoria Street, is a continuation of the reconstruction of Wellington Street downtown from the Wellington Street bridge to Park Street East completed last year.
“There are separate driving factors (for the reconstruction of both sections of Wellington Street),” said town infrastructure services manager Jeff Wolfe. “The one downtown; we prioritized the core when we were looking at prioritization of capital projects, so Wellington Street floated to the top there. We were replacing some storm sewer and we were doing some minor modifications to the water system, we were replacing water services from the main to the property line and then we were improving (accessibility).
“ … This year’s project, though, heavily revolves around the condition of the existing roadway and storm sewer. We’re replacing storm sewer from St. Maria Street to Victoria Street and then we’re improving the water-distribution system in the area. We’re installing a short section of water main to connect two dead ends that exist.”
That extra section of new water main, Wolfe explained, means fewer residents in the area will be without water service in the event of any kind of issue where water needs to be shut off to make repairs. The improvements are also expected to nominally improve the system pressure in times of heavy use.
This year’s project will also see replacement of the deteriorating asphalt roadway, which Wolfe described as one of the worst in town, improved drainage with grading, new catch basins and curbs, and, according to town policy, the removal of one sidewalk along the west side of Wellington Street and improvements to the grading of the remaining sidewalk to make it more accessible.
“We have a policy now on sidewalks where local roads only get one – there’s more criteria than that – but basically we’re taking one of the sidewalks and eliminating it,” Wolfe said. “ … (The remaining sidewalk) currently doesn’t meet accessibility standards so it will meet today’s standards for that.
“The (one-sidewalk-for-local-roads) policy is a policy approved by council. It’s a way to control budget. The policy itself helps us with some decisions. Sometimes it can be contentious when you’re putting sidewalks in. Usually, we’re not taking sidewalks out. Usually we’re putting sidewalks in because there’s more people around and we’re trying to keep them from walking on the roads. The policy gives us a little guidance for where we’re putting a sidewalk.”
The project is expected to last 15 weeks. There will be some service disruptions during that time, including street parking and sidewalk closures, as well as water-service interruptions. Access to some residential driveways may be limited at times.
The town plans to communicate actively and regularly with affected residents throughout the process. Residents are encouraged to follow the town on Facebook (facebook.com/stmarysontario) and Twitter (twitter.com/townofstmarys) or subscribe to the town’s website for the latest information (townofstmarys.com/construction). Information will also be provided through local media for those that don’t use the internet.
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