Nanaimo’s Third St. re-opens to traffic after infrastructure upgrade

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Shearer said sections of the underground sanitary system in the area had “some significant concerns,” with improvements made to keep it usable for area residents for many years to come. (Image Credit: Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

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Nanaimo's Third St. re-opens to traffic after infrastructure upgrade

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The project had an approved budget of around $7.1 million, with the current final budget forecasted to be around $6.6 million, which includes $459,000 in active provincial grant funding and approximately $1.1 million in development cost charges for eligible growth-related infrastructure improvements.

Final costs will be confirmed later this fall.

Shearer said a few weeks’ worth of “finishing work” remains on Third St., including landscaping, property restoration, and final traffic signal adjustments before the project can be officially closed.

He said once the project is complete, the City will monitor the area to see how the complete street design affects vehicles, pedestrians, and cyclists, as well as transit movement, and any issues around accessibility and maintenance which may arise.

“If something is not working as intended, the City can make smaller operational or physical adjustments rather than treating the design as fixed forever. But for long-term acceptance, the goal is to see that the corridor is functioning safely and predictably for all users while still doing its job as a transportation route.”

Vehicles, pedestrians, and cyclists were already taking advantage of the new layout on Third St. at the Bruce Ave./Pine St. intersection. (Image Credit: Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Shearer said they don’t have any other major ‘Complete Street’ projects immediately in the works, with the next major project likely to be the reconstruction of Norwell Dr. towards the end of 2027, with concept plans including roundabouts replacing lighted intersections at Departure Bay Rd. and Ross Rd.

“We’ll be delivering some updates on that one fairly soon, including some sort of look at how we can make those roundabouts function, and I think we’ll get to deliver some more details in the next couple of months.”

More details on the Third St. project can be found on the City’s website.

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