Roadwork season in Yellowknife should be done by end of month, says city

The end is finally in sight for one of the busiest roadwork seasons in Yellowknife in recent memory, as work begins to wrap up on projects on Franklin Avenue and CalderCrescent.

The projects, led by NWT Construction, are both expected to be completed by the end of October, according to the City of Yellowknife.

The city'sdepartment of Public Works and Engineering said they anticipate construction on Franklin Avenue and Forrest Drive will be complete by Oct.27.

"The traffic light work is the final phase," said adepartment spokesperson in an email. "Bases for some of the lights were removed during the underground work and installed during the paving work. The City is working to get them operational and anticipates the roadway will be opened by the end of next week."

On Calder Crescent, alarge hole currently consumes the street as sewage and water work is completed. According to the city, the work should be finished before November.

However, despitemunicipal projects coming to an end for the season, one more public infrastructureproject near the city is just getting underway.

On theIngrahamTrail, the territorial government hasstartedwork on the parking lot atHidden Lake. The parking lot for Hidden Lake Territorial Park and the entrance to the Cameron Falls trail will be closed on Oct.20, according to a spokesperson for N.W.T. Parks.

At this time, N.W.T. Parks say they are not able to provide a completion date for the work.

Over $16M in federal funding spoken for

All other road construction projects in Yellowknife are finished for the season.

Representatives for Ace Enterprises said they have done what they were hired to do, which included paving on Con Road, Kam Lake Road and 51st and 52nd street.

RTL Construction said their projects, including sewer replacements on Finlayson and Forrest Drive,received city inspection for approval on Tuesday.

Theinflux in construction projects this year is the result of increased funding from the federal government. Last year, the federal infrastructure department approved$16,317,000 for waste water, drinking water and public transit projects for Yellowknife. All of those projects have either been completed or are underway.

The amount approved is over double what the city has received in federal funding forinfrastructure over the previous decade. Between 2005 and 2015, total infrastructure funding from the federal governmentcame to $8,112,526.

The City of Yellowknife said the deadline for all federally funded construction projects is March 31, 2019.