A public meeting was held July 9 at the council chamber at Athabasca Town Hall to discuss how construction along 49th Street was progressing.
According to Chief Administration Officer (CAO) Robert Jorgensen, construction still remains about a week behind.
"Due to weather delays, construction began a week later than scheduled," Jorgensen said. "The underground services should be completed by the end of July, and we also discussed the timelines for closing 49th Avenue, as well as deciding on whether or not to continue with one-way traffic on our alley ways."
Steven Kennedy, the senior project manager for Tagish Engineering, said that other than the one-week delay, they are still moving on schedule.
"We have not lost any more ground," Kennedy said. "Work is still progressing well. We have not had any real major surprises as of yet, so things are going good."
Despite the road closures, Kennedy said the workers would try to accommodate traffic as best as they can.
"The most feedback we have had so far is in regards to the back lanes," he said. "Direction of traffic is probably the biggest feedback that we have had as of right now. Other than that, businesses are accepting that the ongoing construction is what it is, and they are making do as it unfolds."
During the meeting, Kennedy said it was decided that one-way alleys are to be removed while construction remains ongoing.
"We took down the one-way signage between 48th and 49th Avenues, as well as signs going up further north," he said. "Having the one-way alleys just added more confusion than it helped, so, we just got rid of it."
Jorgensen said notices on construction will continue to go out as soon as new information is available.
"We will hand-deliver hard copies to each of the affected businesses," he said. "As well, we will also have it them posted on our Facebook page, in order to have all up to date information available as it comes in."
Jorgensen added that public meetings will be held every two weeks until construction is completed.
"The next meeting will take place July 23 at 1 p.m.," he said. "Each meeting is open to the public, and we encourage them to come on down and provide feedback."
