Expect delays: How roadwork will affect drivers in P.E.I. this spring and summer

Islanders and visitors to P.E.I. can expect some travel delays this spring and summer with roadwork taking place across the province.

"We are going to do some bridge construction, some paving and road construction," said Stephen Yeo, chief engineer for the provincial Department of Transportation and Infrastructure.

"We're going to do some intersection upgrades, so there is quite a bit to work to do across the Island."

A major project the province will work on over the summer is a three-kilometre stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway near Hazelbrook, east of Stratford, that needs repaving due to ruts forming, Yeo said.

Right now, there is ongoing work to realign Water Street in Charlottetown, part of the city's Eastern Gateway project.

Traffic has been slow moving in both directions along Water Street in Charlottetown due to work on the city's Eastern Gateway project. (Tony Davis/CBC)

The province will also be doing work in the same area. The plan is to eventually change the intersection at the bottom of the Hillsborough Bridge into a displaced left-turning lane, much like where St. Peters Road intersects with the Charlottetown bypass.

"That intersection is going to be upgraded — Riverside Drive, Grafton, and once Water Street is realigned — so that will be some work, but it will be later on in the year and it will be phased over two years," he said.

"We'll do part of it this year, then we will finish the improvements next year."

The intersection needs to be upgraded because, at the peak time for traffic in the evening, vehicles are often backed up down Riverside Drive, Yeo said.

"It'll be more efficient to get traffic movements through there," he said.

"Travel time will be improved and greenhouse gas reductions will happen because of that."

The Eastern Gateway project will see Water Street extended through the Charlottetown Events Grounds and connected to Grafton Street. (City of Charlottetown)

Eastern Gateway is one of Charlottetown's major road projects this season, said Scott Adams, the city's manager of public works.

He understands that the work is causing delays for drivers, but asks people to be patient.

"There's some traffic concerns that we're seeing, especially in the morning and the afternoon," Adams said. "We expected those, and we're making changes daily — from our messaging to how we're managing that traffic."

Weather helping out

Another Charlottetown project already underway is the reconstruction of Seaview Boulevard, which runs between North River Road and Atlantic Road.

That project should finish by mid-August, said Adams, and he doesn't expect it to lead to any closures or delays on North River Road.

This year's road resurfacing program will start in Charlottetown around the end of May, he said, and includes 30 sections of road around the city.

Charlottetown's roadwork projects started much earlier this year due to favourable weather, says Scott Adams, manager of public works for the city. (Tony Davis/CBC)

Starting in June, crews will also work on new sidewalks.

Charlottetown began its roadwork much earlier than usual this year, Adams said.

"The weather has been a huge help for sure," he said. "The snow melted very early on this year, it hasn't been too rainy."

Summerside development projects

In Summerside, some tenders have yet to be awarded ahead of the summer construction season, but some major projects are already underway, such as the city's east-west housing corridor project.

"A lot of the construction work that is happening this season is more driven by development versus general repair and maintenance, which I guess is a good thing. It is servicing new development, which is something we want in the city," said Summerside's deputy chief administrative officer J.P. Desrosiers.

"We have a east-west housing project that's a very large undertaking that will be not just a roadway, but a roadway which will open up over 300 acres of developable land connecting the east and west end of our city."

That work includes water and sewer upgrades on Water Street East this summer, which could cause some delays, he said.

There will be a day or two in the summer where traffic will be reduced to one lane, Desrosiers said, but dates for that work have not yet been set.

A map showing Summerside's proposed east-west connector road, which would link Water Street East near Reads Corner with Ryan Street and MacEwen Road. (CBC)

While he understands traffic delays can be irritating for drivers, especially during the peak of tourism season, Desrosiers said the roadwork is important for the city.

He also said fninding contractors to carry out the work can be a challenge.

"We are limited to the number of contractors we have available in our province and in our city," he said. "We have to work with those contractors ... and give them the adequate time to get the work done properly."

Yeo said the provincial government currently isn't having the same issue with finding people to do roadwork.

"We have a lot of capacity to do roadwork and bridge work on P.E.I., so we don't have issues with contractors bidding on our work and completing our work," he said. "I think the shortage in construction is on the vertical or building side of things more so than the roadwork."

The province is also doing roadwork along Route 2 in the Wellington area this summer, Yeo said.