Disruptions, detours expected when part of Moncton's Main Street is dug up this summer

One of Moncton's busiest roads that links its downtown to Dieppe, N.B., will be a construction site for several months this year, resulting in lane closures, detours and disruptions.

"We recognize it's going to be an impact," René Lagacé, Moncton's director of engineering, said in an interview Monday about the work planned on Main Street.

Lagacé spoke shortly after Moncton council awarded a $5.3-million contract to Eastco Construction Inc. to install a stormwater pipe and repave about one kilometre of the street between Mechanic Street and Dieppe city limits.

The work is expected to start by the end of April and be complete by early September.

Lagacé said the plan is to keep two-way traffic flowing for most of the project. However, there will be some lane closures and about a month when there will be a major detour around the intersection of Main and King streets.

Lagacé said an average of 15,000 to 25,000 vehicles use the section of street daily.

"Definitely a lot of impact to the local community here, but we'll try to be as efficient as we can," Lagacé said. "The earlier we can finish this work, the better for everyone."

The new pipe is part of a multi-year project to separate stormwater from the sanitary sewer on St. George Street.

The first phases involve installing the portions of the pipe that discharge water into the Petitcodiac River.

Future phases will gradually progress closer to St. George Street and then along that main route.

The project is meant to send rainwater to waterways instead of through the sewer system to the TransAqua treatment plant. That will reduce the chance that heavy rain triggers the release of untreated wastewater.

The work will start in late April in the Chateau Moncton parking lot. Lagacé told city council that will result in a roughly two-month closure of part of the Riverfront Trail. Lagacé said trail users will be detoured to the Main Street sidewalk.

In early May, Main Street will be repaved along portions that don't have to be dug up for the pipe to be installed. That paving work includes the bridge over Halls Creek, which the provincial government is paying for.

Lagacé said that work will result in temporary lane reductions on the five-lane street.

Construction of the pipe along the south side of Main Street will also result in lane reductions.

By July, Lagacé said the city expects to fully close the Main and King streets intersection, resulting in a detour.

"That's going to be the major impact, which will be probably around a month of work," Lagacé told council.

Lagacé said traffic is usually lower in July with workers on vacation and students on summer break.

The underground work will also include replacing some of the existing utility pipes, including brick sewer lines that are more than 100 years old.

Once the pipe has been installed, that portion of Main Street will also be repaved.

Bus routes will continue to use Main, but they will have to detour when the King Street intersection closes.

Lagacé said the city expects to maintain access to businesses along Main Street during the work.

The construction firm will get a $1,500 bonus per day if the work is completed before Sept. 5, or a penalty of the same amount for each day beyond that date.