City of Grande Prairie roads and parks crews will turn their attention to cleaning up the laneways and alleyways on 100 Avenue as the fourth phase of the Downtown Rehabilitation Project begins.
Transportation Manager Robert Carroll says crews would normally focus on picking up litter and a general clean-up of the municipality but with front entrances to businesses affected by construction, it’s important to clean up where customers will be walking. “We are focusing a lot of attention in the next couple of weeks in getting our back lanes cleaned, patched, and safe… when people are accessing businesses it’s more of a pleasant experience,” he says.
The $14 million project will complete the fourth stage of revitalization on 100 Avenue from west of 100 Street to 98 Street. Work will consist of sanitary line replacement, roadway construction, and the installation of wider sidewalks, and higher visibility pedestrian crossings.
Carroll says in addition to the downtown focus, work crews continue to check in on trouble spots around Grande Prairie, but the majority of the heavy lifting when it comes to potholes will begin next month.
“We’ve been on top of it with three shifts a day filling potholes… and now once the asphalt plants start-up, which usually doesn’t start until the middle part of May, then we can go out and do some more permanent repairs.”
Construction on the fourth phase of the Downtown Rehabilitation Project is expected to last most of the summer.