Work will begin Sunday, March 26 on the Nanaimo Parkway, forcing a closure of traffic from south Jingle Pot Rd. to Fifth St. intersections. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Alex Rawnsley

detours available

Overnight closures coming to Nanaimo Parkway for major water project

Mar 21, 2023 | 11:29 AM

NANAIMO — Work crews are preparing for the next phase of a significant infrastructure project.

Development of the Midtown Water Supply Project, which is designed to shore up delivery and handling of water throughout the city, will see overnight closures along the Nanaimo Parkway between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. beginning Sunday, March 26.

Mike Squire, City manager of water resources, told NanaimoNewsNOW the closures are planned to run through Thursday, March 30 and will see a section of water main installed.

“We’ve accelerated this project in order to facilitate the highway’s paving project that’s going to be happening later in the year.”

Detours will be in place with personnel on scene to guide traffic.

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Northbound and southbound cars will be directed down Fifth St. and south Jingle Pot Rd. respectively, using Wakesiah Ave. to get past the closure.

To avoid the area completely, commuters can also take Hwy. 19A/Hwy. 1 through the downtown.

Overnight work will commence on the Nanaimo Parkway beginning March 26, with detours in place. (NanaimoNewsNOW graphic/Google Earth)

The Midtown Water Supply project spans approximately one-third of Nanaimo but will supply closer to two-thirds of the city with water once complete.

“Currently we have a couple of major risks to our water supply system so what this does is building the resiliency and redundancy within the water supply system for essentially the backbone of the water supply within the city,’ Squire said.

Importance of the upgrades were highlighted by an April 2020 rupture of a water main along Bowen Rd., which flooded the surrounding area.

The project is currently on schedule and the City is hoping to turn on the taps in early summer 2024.

It’s the latest in major road closures for Nanaimo drivers, however work crews have been efficient in minimizing disruptions.

A planned two-week reduction in traffic on Bowen Rd. ended up only being around one week as crews installed pipes underneath the roadway to connect projects in Beban Park and a newly developed area closer to the Parkway.

Squire added the next major traffic disruption related to the project will involve a brief interruption at the Northfield Rd. exit of the Nanaimo Parkway in the coming months.

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