Bloomingdale cut off by construction again this year
BLOOMINGDALE BUSINESS OWNERS REACTED FURIOUSLY after the Region of Waterloo closed two routes through the centre of the village for roadworks for the second year in a row.
Both Sawmill Road and Charles Street West are set to close for five weeks until May 10 while contractors continue a storm sewer project as construction season kicks in once again.
The disruption will then continue for at least another five weeks - meaning ten weeks in total - as Sawmill will be barred to those driving north towards Conestogo until June 14.
Since Monday, a 600-metre-long section of Sawmill Road, part of the Regional Road 17 route from Bloomingdale to Breslau and leading to roads into Kitchener, has been closed between the intersections of Snyder’s Flats Road and McAllister Drive.
Additionally, Charles Street West, or Regional Road 26 to Maryhill and on to Guelph, was closed from its junctions with Sawmill Road and Salisbury Crescent.
There is local access for residents and workers, but anyone else wanting to travel from the south to the north side of Bloomingdale will need to take a 24-kilometre detour that typically takes 22 minutes when traffic is clear.
But, having suffered six months of roadworks last year, owners and employees at Bloomingdale businesses were upset about the $5.3 million taxpayer-funded project continuing this year.
“It’s a disaster and we’re going to lose a lot of money,” said Mo Alvandpour, who owns the Nine Star Autos used car lot and RX Auto Service mechanics together with his brother M.D.
“Nobody from Kitchener is going to come here and we are going to lose a lot of customers, which will have a very bad impact on our business.
“I was just looking over our books from last year and wondering how much damage it’s going to do this time.”
Alvandpour said last year’s roadworks cost his company around $300,000.
His brother M.D. said the most frustrating thing is that the job is being carried out in two consecutive years.
“If they had done it in one shot, then it would have been different and we could have managed a little better,” he explained.
“But this second time makes it harder.”
He said all they could do to weather the disruption was “lose more money.”
Susan Smit, who works for paving firm T. Weber Co., was also frustrated about the construction, which is being carried out by bid winners Steed and Evans.
“It is painful for us. We have a whole fleet of vehicles that have to come and go every day,” she said.
“Heaven forbid somebody actually forget something and for whatever reason has come back to the yard in the middle of the day, as the traffic is going to be really bad.
“It’s going to force a lot more traffic through Conestogo, that’s for sure.”
Smit lives in Waterloo and added: “It definitely adds a lot to my commute.”
The detour route from south to north Bloomingdale that the region recommends goes via Ebycrest Road, Victoria Street North, Shantz Station Road, Crowsfoot Road and back onto Sawmill Road.
Jason Lane, the region’s senior engineer responsible for the project, said he was sympathetic to local frustrations.
“We understand that it’s a disruption for both residents, tenants, and the businesses operating and we emphasize that construction will be impacting not just them, but also their employees to get to and from work and customers.
“But for the type of construction that we’re doing, unfortunately, you have to close the roads for both work safety as well as public safety. There’s just not enough room.
“We really appreciate their patience during construction, and we hope that everybody can cooperate and then we can get finished the construction and then we’ll have a new and improved roadway at the end that is more efficient and hopefully we’ll not have to be back for a very long time.
He said the concrete pipes that are being put under the road should last 75 years and the road pavement itself should last at least 25 years before it will need resurfacing.
Unlike last year, when Woolwich had several blockages, including two routes into Elmira, the roadwork in Bloomingdale is set to be the only big projects carried out in the township by the region, which is responsible for the major routes, Lane noted.
In Elmira, the township is to begin a full reconstruction of George, High and Charles streets April 29 at a cost of $3.7million. That work will continue until the fall.