Connecting link work in Timmins is set to get underway

With Algonquin Boulevard in Timmins recently identified as one of the worst roads in the province by the Canadian Automobile Association’s recent survey, construction on the main thoroughfare is set to begin.

Officials with the city advise drivers detours will be in place Monday afternoon.

It’s considered a connecting link, a major four-lane artery through the city.  Beat up by constant, heavy traffic, and cold winters, officials said the rehabilitation is long overdue. And, government funding is allowing the city to work on a section of the road this summer from the beer store up to one of the city's busiest intersections at Mountjoy Street South.

The city said motorists can expect to add more travel time through the city, and to be on the lookout for new stop signs along the detour route.

 Aging infrastructure below the road’s surface will be replaced.

“There’s also all the underground infrastructure that we need to repair as well, and that’s some of the oldest piping networks in the community that you’ll find in that area,” said the city’s CAO, Dave Landers.

“So the water, the sewer, storm systems—they all have to be repaired and upgraded, and that’s part of the work that’s underway as well. So it’s not just resurfacing a roadway in fact that’s the easy part of it.”

This project is part of a three-year plan to prioritize the section of the road that runs through the city’s core. Residents can get construction updates on the city’s website.