The eastern half of Fourth Street is going to be smoother this summer, after Estevan city council approved a tender for a resurfacing project at Monday night’s meeting.
The arterial road will be resurfaced from Kensington Avenue to Souris Avenue South, and there will also be a watermain replacement for the 800 and 900 blocks of Fourth Street.
That stretch of road was last resurfaced in 2007. Undergrounds for most of the eastern half of Fourth Street were completed at that time, although the 800 and 900 blocks of Fourth Street were not.
GenCo Asphalt was awarded the resurfacing tender for $1,167,000. The estimated cost of the watermain and services for the 800 and 900 blocks of Fourth Street is approximately $219,000. Thus the total roadway and watermain replacement expense is estimated to be $1,386,000.
The Urban Highways Connector Program, offered through the Saskatchewan Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure, will supply $570,000, leaving the city to cover the remaining $816,000.
The tender stipulates the resurfacing would begin July 5 and wrap up July 23.
While the resurfacing was discussed back in January, city manager Jeff Ward said this project was not confirmed at the time of the city budget discussions in January, and he believes some changes can be made to accommodate the project.
But as far as awarding the actual tender, council could move forward to start with the planning, and then bring forward some options at the next meeting for council to adjust the budget.
Mayor Roy Ludwig said to the untrained eye, the eastern half of Fourth Street looks good, but the province is coming forward with the money, and that doesn’t happen very often for main thoroughfares through a community.
“I think it’s great to take advantage of that, put an extra layer of pavement on there, which will be good, probably, on top of what we have there now, for the next 10-15 years,” said Ludwig.
The mayor would like to see Fourth Street completed from Souris Avenue South to 16th Avenue during this term, but that will depend on council and the opportunities they have to partner with the federal and provincial governments.
