The City of Sarnia will start preparing for a major downtown reconstruction project this year.
Work will get underway late this year on phase one of the $3.9 million Mitton Street redesign project, although a firm timeline hasn't been set.
Manager of Development and Transportation Alister Brown said that will involve completion of utility work ahead of underground infrastructure updates and streetscape revitalization in 2027.
"The work for this year is less disruptive, strictly related to the replacement of some of the utility poles in the area," said Brown. "The benefit in that is that it allows us to actually shorten the duration of the full closure for the next construction season and ultimately minimize the disruption to the businesses in the area."
This year, workers will be replacing existing hydro poles on Mitton Street between Wellington Street and Davis Street, installing new traffic signal heads and poles at Davis and Wellington, and upgrading the traffic signal poles at the five-corners intersection.
Brown said phase two will be undertaken next year.
"In 2027 we'd be looking at the full scope of the reconstruction with the combined sewer separation, water main replacements, and the streetscape enhancements," he said.
Full closures and work phasing will be tightly scheduled in 2027 and will take place during specified construction windows.
Brown said advanced notice and timing will be provided to all area businesses.
"When we were going out and talking to people, that's one of the things that we heard is that the most important thing was to minimize that disruption to the local businesses. This approach to the project is the best way that we can deliver on that," said Brown.
The city said benefits of the project will include opportunities for enhanced streetlighting, wayfinding signage and streetscape activation for events.
A high percentage of the existing parking spaces in the corridor will be maintained and pedestrian safety is being prioritized.
Traffic calming measures will be noticed at intersections through reduced crossing distances and there will be the chance to incorporate green space design and streetscape plantings.
There will be an emphasis on curb extensions, on-street parking and flex spaces.
Brown expects a detailed drawing of the project to be made available in the coming weeks.
"We are working on a rendering that includes all those street level details that we've brought into this project and we're going to have that up on Speak Up Sarnia here shortly, so those that are excited about the project coming and are waiting until next year for the finished product can get a little bit of a preview on it," said Brown.
You can read more on the Speak Up Sarnia website.
