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Proud to be part of your community! Thursday, July 7, 2016 | 32 pages
Big Dig 3 reaches milestone with Princess Street’s reopening By Bill Hutchins
News – The New Year was just a few days old when crews started Kingston’s costliest and most disruptive road construction project of the year. But there is light at the end of the road. The high-profile downtown project, dubbed Big Dig 3, has now reached a much-anticipated milestone with the promised reopening of lower Princess Street for the first time in six months. “Traffic will be flowing again on Princess Street. We are going to meet our contractual obligations,” said Dan Corcoran, president of Len Corcoran Excavating Ltd., the contractor hired to complete the Big Dig. Corcoran admits his crews were cutting it close to the June 30 deadline to “substantially complete” the reconstruction of three large blocks of Princess Street, between Bagot and Clergy Streets. “It really is tight. We’re going to finish the paving with just half a day to spare.” He says unforeseen weather and construction delays left crews From left, Maggie Hiscock, Bianca Campbell, Hana Turcke, Amber Billingsley and Andie working flat out, including Saturdays, to meet the promised deadSiemens perform in the recent dress rehearsal for the 5678 Dance Studio’s year end pro- line. “As is the case with any old
5678 dances into summer
duction at Queen’s University’s Duncan McArthur Hall. Photo/Mark Bergin
infrastructure there’s always a few surprises.” While the winter weather was relatively mild, Corcoran says reconstructing the downtown’s main street was difficult due to the sheer age of the buried infrastructure and a lack of detailed drawings. “Some of the underground pipes had no as-built drawings to guide us. And we had some gas pipes going in strange directions.” As for the recent summer work, the biggest slowdown came from the occasional outburst of heavy rain that flooded the excavated sites. “The torrential downpours were killers. Other than that the biggest water problem is keeping enough water bottles on site to hydrate our workers.” On a typical day, an estimated 60 to 70 construction workers are working on the project that has kept traffic off the normally bustling street. The impact was felt by merchants. “There was obviously a business impact. Sales suffered. But it was survivable,” said Ed Smith, chair of the downtown business association. However, Smith says he hasn’t heard of any merchant that’s planning to go out of business due to the Big Dig.
Sections of Princess Street are still a work in progress this summer. Crews will need to install granite curbs, red bricks at intersection crossings and add a second layer of pavement. The $12.9 million infrastructure work started in early January to replace aging underground pipes, including a century-old stone sewer box buried down the middle of Princess Street. “I’m so proud of our troops for staying focused on the big picture,” said Corcoran, who also thanked merchants for their patience. “We all realize this work had to be done. Some short-term pain for long-term gain,” agreed Smith, who also owns Windmills Café in the heart of the construction zone. By most accounts, many businesses lost profits and had to scale back on staffing levels due to traffic detours and fewer customers in the storefront-to-storefront construction zone. But many also have words of praise for the contractor, who provided street greeters to ensure pedestrians could still safely navigate the maze of protective fencing and construction equipment. Continued on page 3
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