After winter, the shift to the second season, construction, as road work and detours return
KING STREET IN ST. Jacobs is closed once again, but in different spots, this construction season.
The Region of Waterloo is finishing up the complete overhaul of the village’s main thruway until August, and have roads ripped up and detours in place again.
Project manager Ian Young says this year’s work is about bringing the rest of King Street into line with the work completed last year.
“Between Hachborn and Henry streets is a full road reconstruction. We are going to be replacing some watermains and sanitary sewers in that section, as well as a full reconstruction of the actual asphalt itself,” he said, adding that there will be a facelift above ground as well. “We are also widening the road a little bit for a combination bike and buggy lanes throughout town, and we are replacing all the sidewalks through there as well, usually with a wider sidewalk.”
King Street from the bridge, north to Sawmill Road is also closed, but will be opening up a bit sooner than the construction site farther south. There is less work to be done and Young estimates it will be complete by mid-June.
“It won’t be closed for the entire construction period because it is a shorter section of road and there is no watermain or anything there. It will be about two and a half months it will be closed there,” he said. “What we are doing there is putting a sidewalk in on the east side of the road, and replacing the road asphalt and gravel and some storm sewer.”
Last year’s construction season in St. Jacobs started in April and ran until late October. When the project is complete, the region will have completely reconstructed King Street from Printery Road to Sawmill Road.
Young says the region wants to work alongside the public while they finish up the two-year project.
“If they have any questions or concerns I am happy to take their call and deal with it. We appreciate the patience throughout this construction and appreciate that they are using Highway 85 as much as possible, and avoiding St. Jacobs unless it is their destination or have specific business in town to minimize the detour traffic that goes through our residential neighbourhoods,” he said.
There is another road closure in Woolwich Township. As of Apr. 10, stage 1 of the project commenced, closing Sawmill Road in Conestogo from Flax Mill Drive to beyond Glasgow Street. Stage 2 is scheduled to begin in July, and will shut down the intersection of Northfield Drive and Sawmill Road. Stage 3 and 4 follow, with a predicted full project completion by Nov. 30.
Similar to the work being done in St. Jacobs, the Conestogo project is a full road reconstruction with the replacement of the curbs, gutters, sidewalks and storm sewers and new watermains on both Sawmill and Northfield.