Spring and summer always bring with them the annual inconvenience of road construction.
Whether it's provincial highways or municipal roads, blacktop repairs and construction (other than temporary pothole fixes) can only take place during good weather.
But people who live, work or regularly travel along Bowen Road in the Quarterway area are in for more than the usual delays and detours with the start of a $10.4-million reconstruction project.
The work is expected to last 18 months, taking it well into the fall of 2012, meaning the impact will be long-lasting. But the results are also expected to endure.
With a wider, realigned road, and a brand new, twinned Quarterway Bridge replacing the existing 1939 span, traffic snarls should be minimized.
There's also improved access to and from both the road and businesses, dedicated cycling lanes and proper sidewalks on both sides for pedestrians.
The impact on businesses and residents during the construction phase is not insignificant, as our cover story today illustrates, but neither is the city shrugging off such concerns.
From all indications, city staff are working with the people in the area to hear their concerns and mitigate the affects of the construction wherever possible.
That's not to say things couldn't be better – signs warning drivers to avoid the area certainly aren't helpful for business owners.
But as Jan Mongard, the city's project manager says, two years from now the inconvenience will be just a blip in our collective memory. And it is exactly that – an inconvenience on the road to long-term improvement of a key traffic artery.
Nanaimo News Bulletin
