TRURO - Greg MacArthur is a happy man.
The ward 3 Truro town councillor has been raising concerns about the shape of Burnyeat Street for a couple of years. Now, the street will receive a full rebuild and paving from Centennial Drive to Adams Street as well as storm sewer, and curb and gutter work this summer.
"It was one of those streets that was long overdue," MacArthur said Monday. "It was getting embarrassing, councillors didn't want to drive me home."
MacArthur, who lives on Burnyeat, even referred to the street as having "more moguls on it than Wentworth" during a discussion in January 2008. He estimated it's been 20 years since the street was paved.
The job is one of the projects the town's public works department will be undertaking this year as part of repairs on about 15 different streets around town. That work includes curb, gutter and sidewalk work as well as paving projects, totalling $1.7 million.
"The way we've structured our budget now, streets and sidewalks are getting done," MacArthur said, compared to years ago when not enough money was being invested into the town's infrastructure.
"You've got to make sure you put the proper amount of money in your budget to keep your streets going because if you don't you're neglecting them."
Andrew MacKinnon, director of public works, said on top of the $1.7 million worth of work, the town is also doing curb work on each crosswalk on Prince Street from Commercial to Pleasant streets. The changes will make the curb align with the edge of parking stalls to make the crosswalks shorter. It will be the same as what is located at the corner of Inglis Place and Prince Street.
Despite the wet spring, the town is on schedule with its projects.
"What's really worked in our favour is the streets that they had opened up, they had them paved just previous to any large rain events," MacKinnon said.
This is the third year for the town's asset management plan where the department annually grades the streets around town to determine which projects need to be done. During the first couple of years arterial and collector roads made up most of the work and now the town is starting to get to some of the local streets.
jmalloy@trurodaily.com
FACTBOX
Following are Truro streets that are getting repairs this construction season and their completion date:
Pleasant Street (railway tracks to Charles Street), gravel levelling, mid July
Pleasant Street (Charles Street to Melrose Terrace), gravel levelling, curb/gutter/sidewalk on two side for 236m, mid July
Pleasant Street (Melrose Terrace to MacDonald Street), gravel levelling, curb/gutter on both side for 91m, mid July
Pleasant Street (MacDonald Street to Fairview Drive), sidewalk on the eastside for 356m, mid July
Pleasant Street (Fairview Drive to Lawnwood Drive), curb/gutter on both sides, sidewalk on the east side for 110m, mid July
Pleasant Street (Lawnwood Drive to Beechwood Drive), curb/gutter on both sides, sidewalk on the east side for 106m, mid July
Pleasant Street (Prince Street to Duke Street), second lift of asphalt, mid July
Pleasant Street (Duke Street to Muir Street), second lift of asphalt, mid July
Pleasant Street (Muir Street to Victoria Street), second lift of asphalt mid July
Charles Street (Pleasant Street to Shannon Drive), sidewalk on the north side for 93m and second lift of asphalt, mid July
Charles Street (Shannon Drive to Young Street), sidewalk on the north side for 154m, second lift of asphalt, mid July
Brunswick Street (McLean Street to Martha Avenue), second lift of asphalt third week of July
Brunswick Street (Martha Avenue to Aberdeen Street), curb/gutter both sides for 186m, gravel leveling, third week of July
Brunswick Street (Wood Street to Lyman Street), second lift of asphalt, third week of July
King Street (Arthur Street to railway tracks), curb/gutter both sides for 161m, gravel levelling, end of July
King Street (MacDonald Street to Fairview Drive), second lift of asphalt, end of July
Young Street (water tank to town line), storm sewer, asphalt leveling, end of August
Burnyeat Street (Adams Street to Centennial Drive), storm sewer, curb/gutter both side 394m, end of August
Burnyeat Street (Adams Street to Centennial Drive), full street rebuild and paving, end of August
Abbey Avenue (Harris Avenue to Curtis Drive), gravel levelling, end of August
Park Road (Rosewyn to Palmer), sidewalk on the east side for 180m, Sept. 10
Park Street (Marshland Drive to North Street), sidewalk on the west side for 230m, end of September
Glenwood Drive (west of Harris Avenue to Curtis Drive), sidewalk on the south side for 190m, Sept. 24
Fundy Drive (Upham Drive to Cobequid Drive), curb both sides for 800m, first week of November
Purdy Drive (Glenwood Drive to Tulip), sidewalk east side for 360m, end of August
Golf Street (Prince Street to Smith Avenue), sidewalk west side for 175m, Sept. 10
Logan Street (Queen Street to Stanfield's), sidewalk east side for 107m, west side for 107m, Oct. 8
