HUNTSVILLE, ON- The District of Muskoka doesn’t want to choke a major route in Huntsville.
Residents can expect to see work getting started on King William Street this week, as the route is slated for a major rework over the summer and into the fall.
The project being put together for the route includes water and sewer rehabilitation, along with the rebuilding of the road base and driving surface.
The target for completion is late fall or early winter of this year.
The impact on the public will be notable, because the work will need partial lane closures and potentially full lane closures for intervals during the road rebuilding, along with brief interruptions of utilities as pipes are removed and replaced.
The company handling the project is John Bravakis Enterprises Limited, for a total payment of $5,902,063.25.
Mark Misko, the Director of Transport and Engineering for the District of Muskoka, talked about the work and its possible impact on business owners along King William Street, after owners publicly voiced concerns about a loss in business due to patrons not being able to access their locations.
According to Misko, there is no compensation available from the district for any impacted business owners. Any decisions on compensation would be at a council level for the district, and staff don’t have the authourity to negotiate offsets or compensation for owners who might lose business.
However, the project is being structured to allow two lanes along King William to stay open throughout the work.
“The intent is to keep King William as open as possible, knowing it’s a busy season and there is a lot of traffic going through there,” said Misko.
“There will be delays, and there will be disruptions, but some of our objectives right off the hop on this one are maintaining access to the businesses in the area.”
In the planning phase, there had been the possibility of total closures. While those would have shortened the construction timeline, Misko indicated the district took the feedback of business owners in hand.
According to the district, the work will get underway later this week.