Crews are at work along Bruce Ave. and Victoria Rd. completing a pair of road paving and infrastructure projects. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Alex Rawnsley

ROAD REHAB

Bowen Rd., Bruce Ave. headline Nanaimo’s summer road work season

May 15, 2020 | 6:17 AM

NANAIMO — A slew of road enhancement and infrastructure replacement projects have begun recently in the city.

Crews began tearing up a section of Bruce Ave. between Seventh St. and Eighth St. on May 11 and plan to be on scene for between one and two months replacing water pipes in the Harewood neighbourhood.

The project will be of a much lesser scale than the extensive upgrades to a different stretch of Bruce Ave. which took place in 2019.

A paving project on Victoria Rd. heading into downtown is expected to wrap by the end of May before focus turns to a busy stretch of Bowen Rd. between the Island Hwy. and nearby Labieux Rd.

Phil Stewart, manager of engineering projects for the City of Nanaimo, said the Bowen Rd. project is a major resurfacing and watermain initiative, including upgrades to intersections along the route.

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“It should start in a month or so (mid-June) and be under construction through much of the summer,” Stewart said. “We’re looking at doing night work on that one to lessen the impact on the travelling public.”

One item being checked off the City’s to-do list is a road stabilization upgrade to Hammond Bay Rd. which began last August. The project also added a sidewalk and protected bike lane along a stretch near the Pacific Biological Station

“The contractor got substantial completion on Monday (May 11) which means they’re done the majority of work with only a few deficiencies left,” Stewart said. “We’re pretty excited to be off Hammond Bay Rd. for a while, we’ve been there a long time.”

The project was originally due for a late-2019 finish, however several logistical issues meant the City hit the pause button over the winter.

“It was just one of those spots where it was going to be a lot more difficult in the rainy season, you couldn’t get cleaned up easily,” Stewart said.

Stewart added the City plans to tackle a handful of neighbourhood specific projects which will limit inconveniences to people living in localized areas.

Provided it remains a Council priority, also on the horizon are upgrades to Metral Dr. with an $11.3 million project currently on track to begin in August or September.

Another substantial project in this year’s budget is narrowing Front St and adding bi-directional bike lanes to the waterfront roadway.

alex.rawnsley@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alexrawnsley