County council has awarded a tender for road works on Bloomfield Main Street.
Councillors discussed the tender during Tuesday’s meeting of Prince Edward County Council, and voted to award it to Drew Harrison Haulage Ltd.
The planned work includes repairs to existing storm sewer infrastructure, replacement of deteriorated curb and select sidewalk panels, and resurfacing of the roadway and boulevards with new hot mix asphalt. The tender for the project is $1,447,410 plus applicable taxes.
The work is expected to begin in April, and continue into June. Staff recommended the April to June timeline, to avoid disrupting heavy tourism season later in the year. Splitting the work into two periods was considered, but staff determined completing it in one shot would be faster, reduce risks of going over schedule, and be less disruptive overall to the tourist season.
During the meeting, council also heard a deputation and many comments from the business community in Bloomfield, who believed the disruption to their businesses in June would be devastating to their livelihoods. They asked that the works be deferred to a later year, or rescheduled to be done in two parts, before and after the busiest season.
Council entered into debate over possibly changing the schedule or deferring as the business owners requested. Councillor Phil St-Jean was in favour of the presented plan, despite acknowledging the concerns of local business owners.
“I’ve seen two other previous constructions that went on for months and months. Nobody wants to live through that,” said Councillor St-Jean. “A condensed construction plan that is at the time of the year that has the the least amount of impact on both residents and businesses is is critical. This plan does that.”
Two amendments were proposed which both failed, one to defer the work to a later year, and another one that would split the work between two periods in April-May and September-October.
Ultimately, council voted to pass the project as originally proposed.
