Broadway Avenue repairs half complete as Fringe nears

Some construction pains on Broadway Avenue should ease by the end of the week — just in time for Saskatoon’s Fringe Festival.

The city says the repair project, which is seeing century-old lead water pipes replaced and streets in the area topped with fresh pavement, is half done.

Crews have so far finished work on two blocks, between the top of Broadway Bridge and 10^th Street East, and the city expects paving between 10^th Street and Main Street to be completed by the end of the week.

“I think we did a great job and I think the contractors and the weather played a huge part in that,” Celene Anger, the city’s director of construction and design, said.

“The Broadway BID (Business Improvement District) and a lot of businesses here were very patient and we really thank them for their patience in working with us and putting up with this as well.”

The project began in early May and has seen construction fencing and signage block large portions of the road and sidewalk.

Several business owners say the repairs are negatively impacting their sales, and some say they’ll never make the lost money back.

“It has been anything but good,” said Stephen Sarich, the owner of Schmatta. “It’s probably costing me $800 a day in sales.”

Others — at least those businesses between 10^th Street and 12^th Street — are just excited to see the blockades move toward Eighth Street.

“We’re so excited on Broadway to see the fences move away, farther away,” Outter Limits retail manager Cynthia Fagnou said.

Jeff Wickstrom, owner of Broadway Shoe Repair, agrees the construction affected sales but says he’s still happy with the project.

 “It’s definitely worth it. I’m thrilled we got new pavement and no lead water line. I can drink water out of the tap now. It’s great,” he said.

According to data collected in 2014, of the 1,150 kilometres of water pipes in the city, 63 kilometres of water lines were more than 100 years old.

The Broadway project has so far seen 500 metres of water pipes replaced, with another kilometre still to be completed.

City officials expect the entire Broadway project to be finished by October.

The PotashCorp Fringe Festival begins Thursday and runs until Aug. 6

--- based on a report by CTV Saskatoon’s Jennifer Jellicoe

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  Construction signs and fencing block Broadway Avenue on Tuesday, July 26, 2016, as part of a city project to repair century-old lead water pipes and repave streets. (Chad Hills/CTV Saskatoon)