Having made it through last summer’s closure of Listowel Road in Elmira, Dub-L-E Auto Service owner Trent Robertson was hoping for a better go of it this year. First came the coronavirus, which kept people at home rather than on the road, then the region shut down the road yet again.
The stretch of Listowel Road just west of Arthur Street has been closed since late-April as the contractor attempts to repair deficiencies left over from the work done last year. There have been issues with the underground services, and the roadway has seen significant settling and sagging.
Cambridge-based Network Sewer and Watermain Ltd. carried out the $1.8-million project, and its crews are working on the deficiencies.
“It was supposed to be four weeks. It’s gone long past that,” said Robertson of the repairs, noting traffic past his service station at the corner of Arthur Street and Listowel Road has been reduced by about 75 per cent, as was the case last summer. “The impact for me has been a lack of traffic.”
While the work is being done, he’s forced to wait, noting some days crews are there, while others there is nothing being done at the site. Through it all, last year and this, there has been little in the way of information provided to him by the Region of Waterloo or the contractor.
“There hasn’t been much [communication],” said Robertson. “It’s beyond my control – I’m upset this is taking so long.”
Andew Doman, the region’s project manager for the job, said the current target is to have the work done is early next month, weather permitting.
“After construction, roadway settlements occurred, which required the contractor to correct. The contractor commenced these corrections in April this year and is nearly complete. This roadway is anticipated to be reopened by early July this year,” he said in an email.
Enrique Huerta, Network Sewer and Watermain’s project superintendent, said he expects base and top paving to be carried out on Friday and Monday, with the goal of having the road open again by July 6, depending on weather and clearances from the region.
Additional details about the deficiencies in the work done last summer aren’t available, as the matter is now in litigation, an issue between the region and Network Sewer and Watermain, said Doman.
Jared Puppe, Woolwich’s director of infrastructure services, said the township is also on hold as it awaits clearances for the sanitary sewer and water services installed as part of the reconstruction project.
The continued closure of the road has created detour issues, he noted.
Truck traffic, in particular, has been a problem, with some vehicles heading through the downtown core to access Church Street, for instance.
