Ottawa St. reconstruction to continue through winter

KITCHENER — Driving home is a daily headache, rather than something to look forward to for Karen Lewis.

Lewis lives on Ottawa Street South in Kitchener, which has been a muddy construction zone since the spring.

“It’s been ripped up since May,” Lewis said. “It was supposed to be over in December.”

The nearly $12-million project is slated to fix the deteriorating road, add curbs and gutters, and replace and add underground infrastructure, as well as introduce multi-use trails for pedestrians and cyclists.

The Region of Waterloo is covering most of the project cost on the regional road between Fischer-Hallman Road in Kitchener and Knechtel Court in Wilmot Township where Ottawa becomes Bleams Road. The City of Kitchener is kicking in a portion of the infrastructure installation cost, needed for new residential development.

A rainy fall and challenges with the underground utilities contributed to construction delays, said Gary MacDonald, the region’s head of transportation rehabilitation.

“We’re somewhat behind schedule,” MacDonald.

The original plan for the project, approved by regional council in late 2017, was to have all the reconstruction and utilities completed to David Bergey Drive by the end of November.

Currently, the road is paved west of Trussler and east from Trussler to the Mannheim water treatment plant. The stretch from the plant to the last townhouse complex at 1941 Ottawa, where Lewis lives, will be paved by the end of December.

“It’s been a challenging year, but we’re going to work through the winter,” MacDonald said.

The plan was to put the project on hold between December and April. Now the contractor will continue working to catch up to the original schedule that had all major construction done by 2019.

Work will begin on the remaining gravel stretch to David Bergey starting in mid-January, after the crew has a two-week hiatus, and then work will begin on the second section to Fischer-Hallman.

“It’s much less intensive than the section we worked on this year,” MacDonald said.

MacDonald said residents have been informed about how the project is progressing and changes to the schedule. The condition of the gravel road was monitored and graded when needed.

“Access has been maintained,” MacDonald said. “The weather has made that more difficult.”

Lewis said it’s been a long and frustrating project for residents on Ottawa. “There’s been a lot of dirt, been a lot of noise.”

She said she’s trying to be understanding, but there seems to be little planning or sympathy for residents.

“We’re all furious when you leave and come home.”