Rain notwithstanding, road crews are expected to be working on the Fulford-Ganges Road project this weekend, according to the project’s contractor — but uncooperative weather conditions have indeed delayed the “final lift” of asphalt paving that had been planned for this week, shifting a hopeful completion date into November.
Northridge Excavating Ltd. project manager Bob Mitchell said that ideally the major paving work at Seaview Avenue and Cranberry Road would be done this coming Monday and Thursday, as those days are forecast with the least rainfall.
“If the weather doesn’t hold, then the works will go into the first week of November,” said Mitchell in an update Friday, Oct. 24, adding he expected that would complete the remaining earthworks along Fulford-Ganges but that in the meantime drivers and pedestrians can expect daily work — with traffic control — on the west shoulder of Fulford-Ganges Road.
Mitchell said crews were engaged in a “very technical piece of heavy civil work” on Alders Road all the way down to the water’s edge — creating a particularly hazardous work area he encouraged islanders to avoid.
Alders Road will remain unpaved until that work is complete, as ongoing works there could damage new paving, Mitchell said, adding that the posted speed limit through the entire project — from Cranberry Road to Seaview Avenue — remains 30 km/hr.
The Fulford-Ganges Road Project is a $22.9-million effort, chiefly focused on the Ganges Hill section, where Ministry of Transportation and Transit officials have said work would include stormwater improvements, resurfacing, widening and paved shoulders for pedestrians and cyclists.