Residents of Woolwich’s south end have a few road closures and detours ahead, as township council this week approved $3.4 million in paving projects for this summer.
Among the locations lined up for new pavement are Chilligo Road (from Vance to Lerch roads), Menno Street (from 600m east of Lonsdale Road to Shantz Station Road), St. Charles Street East (from Notre Dame Avenue to Crowsfoot Road) and Woolwich-Guelph Townline (from Highway 7 to Chilligo Road).
Also on tap is new pavement for Hill Street (from Northfield Drive to Covered Bridge Road), as well as Glasgow Street in Conestogo in the area of the bridge and William Street in Elmira.
Parking lots at the St. Jacobs arena and the Elmira Lawn Bowling Club are also slated for new pavement.
Meeting Tuesday night, councillors awarded a contract to Steed and Evans Ltd. to carry out the work at a cost of $3,371,308.80, the lowest of four bids received.
“That was very good. We’re quite happy with what we’re seeing,” said director of infrastructure services Jared Puppe of the bidding process.
The repaving of Hill Street was a provisional, adding an unbudgeted $530,000 to the overall cost, but was approved as a priority project, with the money coming from federal gas tax funding, said Puppe.
In response to a question about from Coun. Patrick Merlihan, he said the priority designation was part of the township philosophy of “keeping the good roads good” by paving before the road deteriorates to the point where major, expensive repairs are needed – “that is all about timing.”
Construction is to begin on or about July 5, wrapping up by October 29, subject to any weather-related delays. Regular hours of work will be Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., with a provision for Saturdays (8 a.m. to 5 p.m.) as needed. There is to be no work done on Sundays or statutory holidays except in an emergency.
