BAY ROBERTS, N.L. — The Town of Bay Roberts will manage its timeline on road improvements expected to start next year to make sure the work does not interfere with a major sporting event.
Conception Bay North's largest community is scheduled to host the Newfoundland and Labrador Summer Games next August. The event will use a variety of local recreation facilities, including the soccer pitch and ball field located on Eric Dawe Drive.
One of the main access roads for reaching those facilities in Cross Road starts from the Conception Bay Highway and eventually links to Water Street. Recently, the town learned it was approved for funding under the federal-provincial Investing in Canada Plan for improvements for Cross Road. The project's estimated cost is $1,218,000, with the three levels of government splitting the cost evenly.
At the Aug. 13 regular meeting, council members unanimously approved a motion to accept the cost-shared funding. In the discussion leading up to the vote, some concerns were raised about when the work would start.
Town CAO Nigel Black confirmed physical work on the road would not begin until next year, noting the town still needs to hire an engineering consultant to prepare the project.
Coun. Geoff Seymour said that in light of the Summer Games coming to Bay Roberts, the town would need to postpone the improvements for Cross Road until after the event if it could not be guaranteed the work would be completed prior to the games.
Mayor Philip Wood expressed some doubt about the probability of finishing before next August, though he added it should not be a problem to have engineering work done and a tender out before the 2020 construction season starts.
Additional road work
Meanwhile, a separate road work project tied to the same area of town should be finished prior to the Summer Games, according to the mayor.
At the same meeting, council awarded a $1.87-million contract to Dexter Construction Company Limited for street improvements on Bishops Road, Station Road and Peppers Road. All three lead to the soccer pitch and ball field.
Mayor Wood said the contractor expects to get started the week of Aug. 19. The project has a duration of 100 working days, which would cover approximately five months.
"They're hoping to have it done by the end of November," the mayor said. "It would be great if they get the weather (for it), but if we don't get the weather, obviously it's going to be delayed until the spring. We've stressed of course the importance of the Summer Games coming, so at the worst case scenario, it will probably be (completed by) May or June."
The mayor said the contractor definitely expects to have the base coat of pavement on the ground for all three roads this building season, but the second coat may have to wait until the spring. This project is financed with support from the provincial government's Multi-Year Capital Works program.
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