Public Works to commence in Williams Lake Downtown Core (Oliver Street/3rd Avenue)

From the City of Williams Lake:

The City of Williams Lake will be replacing water services, improving sidewalks, updating a traffic light, and paving along Oliver Street in the coming months.

Civil works between 3rd Avenue and Mackenzie Ave are scheduled to begin on Sunday, May 8, and expected to last six weeks. There will be intermittent periods of traffic disruption. Work is anticipated to be performed from Sunday to Thursday during daylight hours. In an effort to perform the work while keeping the downtown open and accessible, traffic and street parking on Oliver Street will be limited to the north lane only while contractors are at work. While steps will be taken to mitigate disruption, schedules and traffic restrictions may change if circumstances require. The public is asked to exercise caution in the area of construction and to obey signs and the instructions of flagging personnel.

Later in the summer, following the Stampede, Oliver Street will be repaved from 8th Avenue to Mackenzie Avenue, and crosswalk and sidewalk letdowns will be completed.

“If there is a need to block Oliver Street completely, this will commence after hours beginning at 7p.m. and will continue into the evening until the work has been completed,” says Director of Municipal Services Kevin Goldfuss.

The traffic light at 3rd Avenue and Oliver Street will be upgraded in the same way the light at 2nd Avenue and Oliver earlier this year. Also at 3rd, the crosswalk will be replaced, and sidewalk letdowns will be installed to allow easier use for wheelchairs and strollers. The sidewalk between 3rd Avenue and Borland Street will also be replaced. At 2nd Avenue, the crosswalk will be rebuilt. At 1st Avenue, the crosswalk will be rebuilt, and sidewalk letdowns will be installed. The lane adjacent to Courthouse Square will also be repaired. Water services will be provided to city planters, and some sanitary sewer and water lines along Oliver Street will also be replaced. The corner of Oliver Street and Mackenzie Avenue was upgraded during the paving of Mackenzie last year.

“The water services on Oliver Street were installed in the early to mid fifties and this work is necessary to improve City infrastructure and will ensure that the investment that is required today will last for many years,” says Mayor Kerry Cook. “With all the underground work being done, the new traffic lights at 3rd and Oliver Street, sidewalk improvements and the repaving will make the downtown core more inviting and attractive.”

The total project cost is budgeted at $600,000. (Hopefully - the City sticks to this budgeted amount as their record, to date, to sticking to budgets for Public Works Projects is very poor - ie: Fire Hall Project and the Spirit Square Project just to name two)