Thunder Bay motorists may expect fewer lengthy disruptions on multiple arterial roads during next year’s construction season.
This year local drivers encountered numerous slowdowns and detours resulting from work on arteries such as Balmoral Street, Simpson Street, Edward Street and Cumberland Street.
City officials say the base-level funding that the city has allocated for road renewal in recent years will continue, but the way federal government funding is rolled out is expected to see increased attention to water and wastewater projects.
Some of these projects, however, could still affect traffic flow.
“We’ve seen some federal funding initiatives coming forward that have more of a focus on water, wastewater, stormwater and some transit funding as well," said Kayla Dixon, Director of Engineering and Operations.
"So we will have to match our budgets to take advantage of that funding.”
Continuing the improvements to Balmoral Street, and completing the four-laning of the Junot Avenue corridor, are not currently scheduled for next year’s rehabilitation program.
“(It’s) totally up to council for approval, but Balmoral is not in our proposed budget," she said.
"Again, we’ve really had to look at the federal funding that’s available, and try to make sure that we’re matching what’s available and taking the most of advantage of that.
"They don’t have a focus on roads right now.”
The engineering and operations director added that unless some other government funding materializes, some larger network improvement projects “are kind of stalled at this point.”
One arterial road project that’s expected to continue is north Cumberland Street.
Work that was undertaken this year leaves the stretch from Gibson Avenue to the Current River bridge to finish, if council gives the go-ahead.
"That’s probably the north-south corridor that would be targeted next year,” Dixon said, pointing out that the project is “quite a bit shorter but also doesn’t involve some of the underground infrastructure” that was required for other portions of Cumberland Street.
City staff will present their capital projects to council for budget approval early in the new year.
Dixon said the city is looking to continue residential paving and rehabilitation work, so residents can still expect to see roadwork next year. Even with a shift in focus to water and wastewater, she noted that “those jobs do include road renewal as well, so we won’t get a break from road construction.”
Dixon added that said some proposed capital projects next year could involve north-south arterial routes, but Engineering and Operations “does try to make sure that at least people have some options to take throughout the city so that the traffic still flows.”
