Completion dates
Sanscon, the contractor, expects heavy construction south of Howard Park to be completed on Dec. 3rd — a Friday. As with any renovation, that date may be out by about a week or so. And it will take a lot of 14-hour days on the part of the crew, possibly 7 days a week, to reach that goal.
A little encouragement goes a long way
I talked to a worker yesterday at about 8:30 p.m. He’d been at work since 7 a.m. and looked exhausted. They’ve routinely put in those kinds of hours for the past month. And it won’t let up until most of the work is done.
I told him how great the sidewalks looked and what terrific work they’re doing. And his face lit up. He says they seldom hear that kind of thing, that most of what they hear from passersby are the complaints. And when I wished him a good night, he answered, ‘well, now I will have one.â€
So just a thought that if you too appreciate what you’re seeing, I know these guys would probably love to hear that, especially at this point in a very long slog when the mess and the work is taking its toll on everyone.
Resumption of streetcar service
Track repairs are complete along the full length of Roncesvalles.
Once Sanscon is done with its road work for this year, the TTC moves in and puts back the overhead streetcar wires. The TTC expects to resume regular streetcar service on Dec. 19th — a Sunday.
Councillor Gord Perks, together with the Roncesvalles Village BIA is making plans for a celebration on Saturday, December 18th. There will be champagne! Details of the celebration have yet to be finalized.
Sidewalks and road reconstruction
The very, very latest details -- sidewalk work all the way from Queen up to Howard Park is complete. Road work on the west side is substantially complete from Queen all the way north to Geoffrey.
Enbridge still has some work to do on its gas mains on the west side, from Howard Park south to Geoffrey. Road work has been delayed because the utility didn’t have its work ready to go at the last hour. And we still don’t have a date for when Enbridge will send in its crews. This involves digging on the curb lane to relocate Enbridge gas lines further below the surface. The work will take about two and a half weeks. If you’ve been wondering why Sanscon hasn’t finished the road work on the west side at the north end, that’s the reason.
On the east side, sidewalk work is continuing from Grenadier down to Fermanagh. Look for even more sidewalk to be completed by the end of Saturday. And many people will be glad to know those steps that posed a tripping hazard for some on the sidewalk in front of Pollack’s Hardware will be gone.
The road and sidewalk reconstruction north of Howard Park up to Boustead Avenue is expected to proceed this season, perhaps as early as next week.
Finishing touches
Those ramps that you’ve noticed are to accommodate bikes. Some paving stones will still be laid on those platforms. There’ll also be interlocking brick in front of the credit union and the library.
Street furniture, such as benches and transit shelters, will be installed through the winter and into the spring. We can also expect some small scale construction to continue such as finishing construction on planter beds.
Tree planting
Trees on the east side will be planted in the spring of 2011. The first soil trench is partially completed south of Geoffrey on the east side and the soil is already in. More details about the tree planting to come later on.
End of major reconstruction is near
So the street is really coming together.
There are only three or four weeks left to go, and for today at least the weather seems to be collaborating with the crews to get the street back in order.
