The two projects being undertaken on Highway 62 are ahead of schedule, according to Hastings Highlands Operations Manager Adrian Tomasini.
The first project on Highway 62 was funded in part by the federal and provincial governments who announced they will pitch in around $1.9 million in August 2019. Just under six kilometres of the highway has been resurfaced with new shoulders and a new guide rail installed as well. The other project is the complete rehabilitation of the main street in Maynooth from Highway 127 to Young Street.
Tomasini says Bonnechere Excavation Corp. finished the paving for the larger project last week and is preparing to start the next part which will be doing the shouldering and installing a new steel beam guide rail along the road. He estimates that the work will be done in three weeks.
As for the reconstruction of the road in downtown Maynooth, Tomasini says the work on the curbs is finished. He says they are starting on the sidewalks today and will start putting down asphalt later this week. He estimates the work will be done by the end of July and after an inspection, he says the road will be ready to go by the first week of August.
“They’re both ahead of schedule,” Tomasini notes, pointing out that the main street work was originally scheduled to be done in September. He says they were able to get the work done quicker by cutting it down to one stage rather than two. Tomasini says that was done to minimize the effect the work would have on businesses and due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We did find some interesting stuff buried,” he says of the downtown Maynooth project. “We found the old road and sidewalk buried. So we have to remove the old sidewalk because we have to put our storm sewer in further.” He says that did add an extra cost to the project, but other than that he says there have been very few delays.
You can follow along with the project’s progress via Hastings Highlands Mayor Vic Bodnar’s Facebook page.
Written by Mathew Reisler