'Corduroy road' found under King Street worries Waterloo businesses

Business owners in uptown Waterloo are concerned that construction along King Street will be delayed by the unexpected discovery of an old corduroy road under the existing asphalt. 

Members of the Uptown Waterloo Business Improvement Area were told about the discovery Tuesday morning during a meeting with the city and Grandlinq.

• 'Corduroy road' logs found under Waterloo LRT construction

"It is very cool for the region," said Mandy Brouse, co-owner of Words Worth Books, "but I'm just hoping that it's done quickly and efficiently so that it helps history, but it also helps for our very practical purposes today."

The old road was discovered on March 11, but was not confirmed until March 21 according to representatives from Grandlinq. The road was made with sand-covered logs laid tightly together, going in the same direction of travel in the way that railway ties do.  

Construction on King Street between William and Erb has come to a standstill and will not resume without approval from the provincial Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport.

'Nebulous' timeline

Brouse said businesses were originally told that construction on the uptown portion of King Street would be completed by mid November.

"What's scary is that timeline now seems nebulous," she said. "We really just don't have the answers we need and we're kind of freaking out a little bit about it." 

During Tuesday's meeting, business owners repeatedly asked when construction would be finished, but the Grandlinq representatives said they could not give a date.

"It seems that no one knows anything," said Andy Cox, owner of King Street Cycles. "I don't know how they can stick to their November timeline when they find things like this corduroy road. It's obviously going to take some time to deal with, yet they won't admit to having to bump their end timeline."
 
The fear is that construction will continue into the Christmas shopping season, which is when business owners say they make the majority of their annual sales.

"If I know ahead of time that that might not happen, then maybe we do special promotions in the fall. Maybe we really push for earlier sales," said Sam McIntyre, manager at Heel Boy.

Although it's too early to know whether construction is affecting current sales, McIntyre said most businesses are in survival mode.

"I know that this work has to happen and it probably will be beautiful by the time it's done, but, for now, it's just we really feel like we're fighting to stay in it."