Frequent rains in June slowed progress on the rebuild of Kensington Avenue North, but the project is nearing completion.
Two components remain before the road can be open to traffic again, according to Kiflom Weldeab, who is the engineer for the City of Estevan. The approaches have to be completed, and traffic lines have to be painted.
“Until that is completed, the road will not be open to the public,” said Weldeab.
The approaches were slated to be completed earlier this year. They are trying to locate a contractor to paint the traffic lines.
A date for the traffic painting has not be established.
While the rains this month have created some delays, Weldeab noted the contract for the project specified it would be finished in early July. The city wants it to be completed well before the start of the 2016 Saskatchewan Summer Games on July 24.
“I think we are way ahead of the Games, and if it weren’t for the weather, it would have been done way before that,” said Weldaeb.
The work began in early April.
“That was the saving grace. With all the moisture we had, this would have been very challenging if that was not started so early,” said Weldaeb.
The first component was to upgrade the grid road from the north entry of the Estevan Comprehensive School (ECS) to Estevan’s northern city limits. The sub-base, base and the approaches on the grid road were improved.
The Provincial Disaster Assistance Program (PDAP) funded that part of the project, since it stemmed from damage that portion of the road sustained during the flood of 2011.
PDAP set a deadline for the end of June for that portion of the project to be completed, and the city met that demand.
The second part of the project saw asphalt applied to Kensington Avenue from an area north of King Street to the north city limits.
Weldeab said motorists have done a good job of coping with the road closure. There were challenges initially, especially after the Kensington Avenue access for ECS was closed in late May. All traffic for ECS had to use the Spruce Drive access for the final few weeks of the school year.
He is also impressed with how businesses along Kensington Avenue North have handled the road closure.
