Finally, the eastern blocks of King Street are getting some much needed attention.
It’s no secret to Estevan residents that King Street has been in rough shape for years, with potholes, ruts and rough driving. And frankly, it felt like it was designed by several different people.
You have the stretch from Cundall Drive to Sister Roddy Road that’s one lane in each direction. And it has to be one lane. There isn’t enough traffic to warrant having double lanes.
And then you have from Cundall Drive to east of Kensington Avenue, which is double lanes, and has to be double lanes. But the areas with double-lane and single-lane traffic were varying widths.
For a few years, it was tough to drive in the outside, eastbound lane from Souris Avenue North to Bannatyne Avenue, because it was in such rough shape. That problem was resolved with resurfacing a year ago.
And, of course, there was the way in which King Street narrowed down to single-lane traffic eastbound from Bannatyne Avenue to Pine Avenue, and then returned to double lanes again.
Thankfully, that quirk came to an end a year ago. And while some people inexplicably had trouble adjusting to the kink in the road, the situation improved after some changes were made.
So that brings us to this year. A widening and resurfacing project is now underway on King Street from Pine Avenue to Kensington Avenue. Once it’s finished, it will be as wide as the stretch from Pine Avenue to Bannatyne Avenue. And it will be resurfaced, too.
Of course, a project like this means a detour. And you’re already hearing the complaints.
Now, those who live on roads that will see more traffic, like Heritage Drive, Henry Street and others, have a reason to be annoyed with this inconvenience. And they should be ticked off at motorists who insist on speeding or driving recklessly through their neighbourhoods.
But you have to wonder why people are angry over the presence of the detour. After all, you need to close that portion of King Street to complete the necessary work. This isn’t one of those projects in which you can close one lane of traffic and keep the other lane open while the widening and resurfacing occurs.
Do you want the detour? Or do you want to see King Street in rough shape?
Take the detour, drive cautiously through the neighbourhoods, followed the posted speed limits and give yourself a little extra time to get there.
And cross your fingers that the city will complete the last remaining portion of King Street next year. After all, there is work to be done from Cundall Drive to Kohaly Avenue.
Then the city can turn its attention to the next beat up road. Perkins Street, Fifth Street and Souris Avenue South are next in line.
