On Monday, May 7th, work will begin on the $4.3 million project to upgrade Victoria. The project will last until at least September this year with the final asphalt being laid in the spring of 2019.

The road will be upgraded from Maple to Centre. Work includes, a concrete sidewalk on the south side designed to offer the school children the maximum protection; a 3 metre bicycle path, on the north side, that will link into the paths beyond Centre; a new storm sewer that will run into a new filtration tank near the bridge near the junction of Centre that will clean the run-off before it enters the Coldbrook and the Lake; some Hydro/Bell poles will be moved to create space for the bicycle path; new water mains will be laid as will new sewer pipes and, of course, there will be a new surface. The bike path and the two traffic lanes will each be 3 metres wide. The sidewalk with be the standard 1.5 metres wide.

There were many questions in a well-run and good-humoured meeting. They dealt mainly with the issues of access and continuity of service. The main points raised were these:

• Businesses, such as the Marina and the Lakeview, will have diversion signs in town
• Either Benoit or Landsdowne will always be open and so the residents and the Marina will always have access
• Davignon will be closed for no more than about a week as will all the residential addresses on Victoria. Alternative parking will be provided for all whose access is disrupted.
• Two surface-based fresh water lines will be run early on in the project to provide a continuous flow of water to houses and to the fire hydrants. There will be no disruption of water or sewage
• When the poles are moved – estimated to be July/October – notice will be given to residents and businesses by the service providers. It is likely that this work will take place at night and that disruptions will be limited to a few hours. This part of the project is not in the direct control of the town or the project manager.

Robert Daniel, from TBL’s Public Works, gave a comprehensive overview of the project to 40 residents on Monday April 30. The Mayor and most of council were in attendance.