Evening travellers in downtown Courtenay, take note — sections of Fifth Street pavement are getting repaired, resulting in temporary road closures.
On July 23, the City of Courtenay will begin road improvements between Cliffe and Fitzgerald avenues. The work will start at 6 p.m. and continue until about 6 the following morning. The project is expected to take two days, weather permitting.
Keir Gervais, manager of operations, said the road is being repaired mainly for public safety reasons.
“The pavement has developed what looks like large ripples in some sections,” noted Gervais. “These occur most commonly in intersections, where there is lots of braking and stopping traffic. We’ll be smoothing these out so they’re less dangerous to vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians.”
Crews will repave approximately two metres of each curbside, and reapply affected crosswalks and other road lines.
Gervais stated the work may be noisy at times.
“Whenever there’s a road work project, it’s unfortunately going to have to involve some noise. We’re aware that there are residents nearby, so we’re going to do our best to minimize it as much as possible, particularly in the later hours of the evening and in the early morning.”
City crews will begin working on the block between Cliffe and England avenues on Monday night starting at 6, packing up in the early hours of the morning so Fifth Street is usable again. On Tuesday night at 6, they will move to the block between England and Fitzgerald avenues.
Gervais said Fifth Street will still be usable by pedestrians.
“We’re leaving the sidewalks open, so people traveling on foot won’t be affected.”
Vehicles left in the work zones after 6 p.m. will need to be towed to make way for work crews and equipment. The City will notify drivers parked on the affected blocks on Monday and Tuesday afternoon to ensure they are aware of the project.
For more information, visit www.courtenay.ca or call 250-338-1525.
— City of Courtenay