As construction season heats up quicker than the weather, the City of Estevan's attention turns to numerous infrastructure projects slated for completion this year.
Amber Smale, city manager, noted the most important projects will help alleviate some of the pain commuters feel driving on one of Estevan's busiest stretches of road.
The big project this year is the repaving of 13th Avenue, or Highway 47 North, between Fourth and Sixth Streets.
"We're doing the preliminary work right now and we anticipate starting construction in July. That's the most important one right now," said Smale. "The other one we're doing is the parking lot at Affinity Place. That is almost underway. We're just finishing up the electrical that needs to be done, and then that parking lot can be paved."
Mayor Roy Ludwig said the parking lot paving is something the city has been waiting on for too long, but it takes a secondary priority position to the Highway 47 asphalt work.
"Depending on how long that takes, because it's not that long of a contract from the railway to the Orpheum Theatre, we expect that as soon as that is done we can finish the parking lot as well," said Ludwig.
He said the cement curbing in the parking lot is complete or nearly complete, and they expect to complete both lifts of pavement before the winter.
Ludwig called the Sixth Street and 13th Avenue intersection "horrendous," and is awaiting the repair work with the same level of expectancy as the rest of the city's commuters.
Recently, crews laid fresh pavement down on Fourth Street in an area that saw repair work last year.
"We finally got that horrendous patch that we had done in the winter; we finally got that paved, which will be a huge improvement. I know people will be happy with that," said Ludwig. He said they planned the pavement work for last year, but because they were unable to get the cement curbing completed, the asphalt work had to wait.
He said the areas awaiting curbs before they can be paved are Nicholson Road and Wellock Road.
"Wherever we have sewer or water replacement, they just fill it in with gravel and try the best they can to keep it smooth, but of course, it always ends up getting wash boarded. It's just a short-term measure until we can get the curbing done. Then we can get the paving done," said Ludwig. "We really appreciate the patience that our citizens have had on this, and hopefully we can take care of all of the asphalt patches this construction year."
King Street is also rough and the mayor said the city will be giving it some attention this year with pothole crews filling in the worst spots.
"There won't be a shave and pave this year for King, but it is coming up on the list. It's one of the streets that we've prioritized that we'll have to be looking at in the next short-term window," said Ludwig.
With further development expected north of Wellock Road, the extension of that street, connecting it to Sister Roddy Road, is moving toward completion.
"Right now the contractor is trying to finish by mid-June. As far as I know it's on schedule, but it's always weather and resource dependent," said Smale.
"We're looking forward to that. That will include paving, so when they're done with all of the base work, then that will be paved all the way to Sister Roddy Road," said Ludwig, who said as development in that area of the city continues and housing builds up, the city will be looking at building up Sister Roddy Road and eventually paving it.
Other than roads, council decided to more forward with plans to construct a new biosolids building in the city at a cost of $1.4 million. The project is already underway, said Smale.
"That's another major project for this year that will be completed by the end of the year."
"That's an issue that has been going on for a number of years," said Ludwig, regarding the biosolids building, which he expects to be completed by fall. "That's a big project for us in this year's budget, and we're looking forward to having that finished because the previous building was too small, and it was having structural issues. It was just past its replacement time."
Another project on the go is in relation to culverts, said Smale, and that work includes the replacement of the Highway 47 North culvert.
"During the 2011 flood it was identified as damaged, so we have a little provincial funding to get that done. Those are priority projects when we get some money from the province," she said.
While infrastructure projects around the city take most of the focus, the city has also begun the summer maintenance work, which includes street sweeping, pothole filling and grass cutting.
"Our summer staff are back to work, so they're working on litter control, and they're starting to get the parks ready for maintenance and their equipment up and running. We're at full complement right now," said Smale.
