St. Ann’s Road will remain closed to traffic until the fall.
A city press release in early July announced that St. Ann’s would be closed throughout July and August.
Following the re-opening of St. Ann’s, the second, fall phase – the closure of Alder Street between Beech and St. Ann’s and from Beech to 10th Avenue – was to take place through September and October, according to the city.
But a news release issued by the city on Friday said St. Ann’s will remain closed beyond the July and August dates.
“Current road detours will stay in place until the end of September or early October,” said the release. “It is anticipated that St. Ann’s Road will re-open to traffic in both directions at that time. Once St. Ann’s is re-opened, Alder Street (between St. Ann’s and 10th Avenue) will then close to traffic for work on the second phase of the project.”
The city said the second phase closure, being Alder Street, is anticipated to go into late November, with completion of road surface restoration and final landscaping expected to carry on into the new year.
Marci Hotsenpiller, spokesperson for the downtown project, said the original dates were not correct.
“The intention was that the closures were for summer and fall,” said Hotsenpiller in an e-mail. “We’ve updated our materials that referred to July and August as these were incorrect.”
Jason Hartley, the city’s capital works manager, said the project is right where it’s supposed to be.
“The project is on schedule and on budget,” Hartley said in a city release. “To date we have had no significant issues that would have changed the contractor’s timing estimate.”
All underground work along St. Ann’s on the west side of Alder Street is complete and that section has been paved. New storm system piping has been installed on Dubeau and Beech streets and the installation of electrical conduits has begun, starting at the Alder and St. Ann’s intersection.
Mayor Walter Jakeway said the weather has played a key role in the speed of construction.
“The excellent summer weather has been a big help at keeping close to the project schedule, with a bit of rain keeping the dust to a minimum,” said Jakeway, who thanked the community for its patience during the upgrades. “To the general community and specifically the businesses in the area, thank you for your patience and for working around the project so well.
“As the amount of completed work increases, the new look of our area will start to be apparent, and the benefits of improved infrastructure will last long into the future.
Opportunities to complete major upgrades of buried services infrastructure, at key intersections, doesn’t happen often for a busy city.”
The city’s $4.05 million downtown revitalization project involves an overhaul of the city’s aging underground infrastructure as well as landscaping improvements above ground to create a more walkable, pedestrian-friendly space.
The project is timed to coincide with the building of Seymour Pacific’s new headquarters building on the St. Ann’s block.