FERGUS – Phase one of the reconstruction of St. David Street North (Highway 6) is complete and the road has reopened.
It boasts single lane two-way traffic on fresh asphalt, a curb separating the road from an asphalt bike lane, and freshly poured concrete sidewalks. And underground is new watermain, sanitary sewer and storm sewer infrastructure.
There is also a new signalized pedestrian crossing at St. George Street and upgrades to some other intersections along the route.
Phase one of the project runs from St. Andrew Street to just south of the Garafraxa Street intersection.
Phase two, which will commence in the spring, will reconstruct the road from Garafraxa to Edinburgh Street.
The asset management plan identified St. David Street North as a priority as infrastructure there was at the end of its service life – and apparently it was not wrong.
It was hardly a week after commencing the work last spring when a watermain broke under the weight of the demolition machinery.
According to a township press release, staff will work with the Fergus BIA on the final touches of the project, including benches, decorative streetlights and new trees along St. David Street North “that add to the visual appeal of the streetscape.”
The project is projected to cost a total of $9.25 million. The township received $2.8 million through the Ministry of Transportation’s 2023-24 Connecting Links Program as St. David Street North is also Highway 6.
The $6.9-million contract was awarded to Drexler Construction.
While council of the day initially approved the project unanimously, some councillors tried to bring it back to reconsider the bike lane option after the fact, but they could not get the two-thirds majority required to reconsider the decision.
Premier Doug Ford’s government recently passed Bill 212, a bill that requires municipalities to seek permission from the provincial government to install new cycling infrastructure that removes a lane of traffic
The bill also protects the province from lawsuits if cyclists are injured on routes where bike lanes were removed.
Given that, the Advertiser asked if the St. David Street project was in any peril.
“We have not received any correspondence from the MTO or Ontario Government indicating that the St. David Street cycling facilities are impacted by this legislation,” stated township communications manager Kendra Martin in an email.
