Road work with orange pylons. Photo courtesy of Blackburn News Road work with orange pylons. Photo courtesy of Blackburn News
Chatham

Downtown Chatham Sidewalk Construction Right On Schedule

Chatham residents won't have to put up with lane closures in the downtown area for much longer as sidewalk construction nears completion.

Manager of Infrastructure Services Chris Thibert says the Downtown Chatham Sidewalk Replacement project that began on July 10 is on track to be completed September 1. He says "overall, the construction is moving along excellent and according to schedule."

Thibert says safety concerns prompted the major uplift to the downtown core.

"We were getting a lot of trips and fall complaints and a lot of pavers were popping out and becoming misplaced," he says.

Removal and replacement of sidewalks on King St. from Fifth St. to the Civic Centre is ongoing, though now construction is being moved to the Third St. area.

"King St. is being diverted to either one lane of traffic in one way or the another for when they do work at the intersection of King St. and Third St. We appreciate everyone's cooperation as they proceed in that intersection. They're hoping to be in and out within the day and reopen all four lanes, so two in each direction, at night," explains Thibert.

Thibert is excited to see the finished results.

"The overall aesthetics and look of the downtown now with the clean new grey sidewalks is going to be much more appealing and hopefully essentially liven up the downtown core. [It'll] provide much better access and visual aesthetics for the businesses downtown," says Thibert.

For more information about the sidewalk construction, residents can visit the municipality's virtual infrastructure map. 

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