COLUMN: Carillon Flashback July 29, 2004 – Steinbach street paving still a work in progress

The more things change, the more they stay the same, is an old adage that can certainly be applied to ongoing street projects in Steinbach. Ever since the first dump trucks poured a layer of asphalt on Main Street in 1947, street paving crews have become a sight as common as the Pioneer Days Parade most every summer.

And 2004 is no different, as two major street projects are well behind schedule and crews are scrambling to complete a small portion of Reimer Avenue in time to handle the extra traffic generated in the downtown area because of the annual parade.

Both projects, involving First Street and portions of Reimer Avenue and Hanover Street, were scheduled to be completed by the second week in July and have been delayed until well into August.

City Manager Jack Kehler said delays caused by frequent heavy rains have been compounded by the complexity of some of the work. Along Reimer Avenue, where a portion of the street is being rerouted, crews have had to work around gas lines, telephone trunk lines containing fibre optic cables, a large storm sewer and an underground creek channel. They also had to contend with trees and overhead wires.

Reimer Avenue is being rebuilt from near Elmdale Road to Henry Street and all sewer and water lines along this approach have been replaced.

At the same time, the former five-way intersection of Reimer Avenue, Hanover and Hospital Streets is being reconfigured. The new intersection will become a four-way stop, connecting Reimer Avenue with Hospital Street, with Hanover Street crossing in the other direction.

The $1.7 million contract also calls for the repaving of much of Hanover Street, northwest of Reimer Avenue and sidewalk replacement there, as well.

Kehler notes the contract calls for about 60 working days, excluding rain delays, to complete this project and another involving major improvements to First Street from Brandt Street to the Giesbrecht Street intersection near Highway 52.

The contract provides for penalties to be paid if the project is delayed by factors other than the weather.

It is unlikely the contractor faced this kind of pressure when the first paving project in Steinbach was undertaken back in 1947. Steinbach had received town status by incorporation a year earlier and residents and businesses alike welcomed the improvement to Main Street and were not bothered by the inconvenience street reconstruction caused.