A Halifax councillor is thanking community members for their patience while a major construction project on a very busy roadway near the west end of Halifax, blocks access and snarls up traffic.
Kathryn Morse tells us with a $10 million price tag; the goal is to make Dutch Village Road much safer for all users and more aesthetically pleasing.
“It’s been in planning for a few years and I’m very glad to see it happening,” says Morse.
However, she says, the busy street has been closed for at least a month, and residents are irritated.
“I’m getting calls. I’m getting emails. People are frustrated with not having the same access they had before. So, people now have to go across the grid to Main Avenue and they’re not able to access Dutch Village Road at the moment,” says Morse.
She adds, a few local businesses have also been affected including a farmer’s market that had to change locations and others that are getting less foot traffic.
“So, that will go on for another few weeks until we can get more of a sidewalk built. We’re working on getting full access restored with the sidewalks as soon as possible,” says Morse.
Although, she adds, HRM did give businesses a heads up on the impact at least a year ago and are providing frequent updates.
What is happening?
Dutch Village Road is getting a complete overhaul.
Morse says by the end of it, there will be sidewalk on both sides making it better for all users, including the 14,000 cars that typically use it every day.
“They’re redoing a lot of underground piping work as well. They’re replacing or putting in bus stops. They’re fixing a lot of safety issues with the road. They’re installing bike lanes,” adds Morse.
Parking will also be rearranged from perpendicular to parallel.
Paving to start
Paving is scheduled for the next few days on Westerwald Street to Joseph Howe Drive.
However, that does require very dry conditions, and rain is in the forecast for Tuesday.
Morse says, once paving is done, they will open that section of Dutch Village Road to traffic.
Some relief on the way
Despite a few hiccups, including a gas leak last week, the work is on track.
Morse says it is an eight-month project that should be done in December, and they are working as fast as possible to make that happen.
“Thank you for your patience. In a few weeks or so, it’ll be much better. We’ll get another road open, and traffic should flow a lot better. But there will be interruptions for the next few months.”
Comments