Downtown Chatham businesses, fresh off RetroFest, are about to face a double construction whammy.
It begins in a matter of days with the rebuilding of the Fifth Street Bridge, and continues in July with the replacement of sidewalks throughout the downtown.
Adam Sullo, director of engineering for the municipality, said both projects were to receive approval at Monday’s council meeting.
The Fifth Street Bridge will soon be closed until late fall, he said.
Initially work was to begin right after RetroFest, but Sullo said the timelines got pushed back slightly.
“The concern when you are doing anything is ordering materials. Steel girders are the biggest issue,” he said.
The bridge will have its top replaced right to the waterline, and will cost $7.45 million.
The target completion date is mid-November to mid-December. But Sullo said any delays would prove costly to the construction firm handling the job, and troubling for the municipality.
“The deadline for opening the bridge for vehicular traffic is Dec. 22. If they don’t meet that timeline, we can’t open it for the winter,” he said. “If they miss that deadline, there are very significant financial penalties to the contractor.”
And if the job is done prior to November 17, Sullo said there is a financial reward for the contractor as well.
“We want it open by the end of the year. It also has Ontario Community Infrastructure Funding – $2 million. That requires us to have it done by the end of the year,” Sullo said.
Not all the work on the bridge and the intersection of Fifth Street and King Street will be completed within that time frame, however. Sullo said there is some utility work that will take place after that point.
“We’ve already asked for an extension as we have some work continuing to next year,” he said. “There is a very substantial copper line for Bell Canada under the river. They will be putting the Bell line onto our structure through the conduit.”
Sullo said the sidewalk work will begin shortly after July 1 and comes with a $700,000 price tag. King Street, from Third Street to Adelaide Street, will have new sidewalks installed. Work will also proceed along Fourth Street to Wellington Street.
“Sidewalks will be starting right after Canada Day. Wanted to delay it because of that,” he said of the Canada 150 celebrations. “We didn’t want to cause disruption with that.”
He said the deadline for completion is September.
Paul Shettel, owner of the Downtown Deli and co-chair of the Historic Downtown Chatham BIA, hopes the sidewalk work will be completed in 10 weeks or less. If not, it will have an impact on the Downtown in the City Extravaganza fall fashion event slated for the third Friday in September.
Sullo said the municipality is working with the BIA to help ensure the work has minimal impact.
“They are into some Friday night events,” Sullo said of Third Friday events the BIA has planned for summer months. “We’re doing our best to work around that.”
As for the progression of the sidewalk replacement, he expects it will go block by block.
“We certainly don’t want them ripping up the entire street and doing it all at once,” he said.
Shettel said the BIA looks forward to the improvements, and will spruce things up as well, by adding new garbage cans, refurbishing the benches and adding larger hanging flower baskets.
At ground level, the replacement of 40-year-old concrete will be telling.
“It will be a lot safer. Everything will be uniform,” Shettel said. “And it will look great.”
Sullo said he realizes the construction will be an inconvenience, but asks for patience from the community.
“We know there are going to be a disruption,” he said of the sidewalk and bridge jobs. “But we are investing in the community.”
