Penn Avenue residents can expect some construction as Newmarket prepares to upgrade sewers.
The town outlined the scope of the work for Penn Avenue and Charles Street in a virtual information centre May 17, with the sewers getting resized to meet future capacity need. Staff expect the Penn work to impact traffic for the construction period — approximately two weeks to a month in the summer.
Ainley Group capital projects group lead Terry Hoehn said the undersized sewers create some risk to the community during flood events. He said the construction — between 201 and 218 Penn Ave. — will maintain accessibility for residents.
“There will be some disruption in that area, but there are a lot of options for traffic flows, and residents that live in the area will have access at all times,” he said.
Hoehn said that the construction on Charles, adjacent to the Southlake Regional Health Centre parking lot, is occurring in a grassy area and should not require traffic disruption.
Hoehn said the project would create some vibration and dust, though there will be mitigation measures.
Town manager of capital projects Rob Grech said there would be no vibration study as the underground work is unlikely to cause enough vibration to be high-risk, as opposed to when work is done on the road.
“The risk of any issues is extremely low in this case,” he said.
There will be no road resurfacing as part of the project, Hoehn said.
The town has not yet awarded the work but Hoehn said that should happen soon, with an exact schedule forthcoming.
“We just ask everyone during construction, be patient,” he said. “Workers that are there have families, they want to get home and be safe. We want to make sure all the residents are safe as well.”
Area residents will receive notices about the construction, Grech said.
“We look forward to getting in there and getting this project done.”
