Huntsville town council has approved two measures to speed up the construction at the Main and Centre intersection.
The first of the two grants an exemption to the town’s noise-bylaw, which would allow crews to work at the intersection from 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. from Monday to Thursday.
Brandon Hall, the town’s Engineering Technologist, stressed to council the bylaw exemption is only for Main and Centre, and any future night work would need to come back to council.
“Right now, the request is for work in that intersection. The contractor does not have permission to work on Phase Four,” said Hall. “Phase Four from Centre to Lorne [Street] is just a lay-down area for their construction equipment. Right now, their only permission is to get in that intersection and get out.”
Council also formally approved temporary one-way streets to detour the construction. Caroline Street is now one-way westbound from Centre to Lorne; Lorne is southbound only from Caroline to Minerva Street; and West Street is northbound only from Main to Caroline.
The detours had been in place since the restart of construction on Monday, and are expected to last until mid-April.
According to Hall, the one-way on West St. is necessary to allow trucks to safely make turns onto Main St. for deliveries.
The two approvals came at a special council meeting on Wednesday.
Hall says a full report on Diggin’ Downtown’s progress will come to the Regular Council meeting at the end of the month, but in the meantime he says contractors are “full force” right now and have stripped the asphalt to wrap up phase three.