If you think it’s been a light start to construction season, then you haven’t spent much time in Preston.
It started last December, when the Fountain Street bridge closed.
More recently, construction crews have set up shop on Shantz Hill Road, and all the way through the area of King and Fountain streets.
While the roads remained open, drivers often encountered delays.
Some drivers decided to use Speedsville Road as a detour. That came to an end last week, when the bridge Speedsville bridge at Highway 401 was shuttered. It’s expected to remain closed until late June.
Add it all up, and it’s no surprise that some drivers are left wondering where exactly they can go for a smooth ride through northwest Cambridge.
“There’s a lot of frustration, and I understand that frustration,” says Coun. Donna Reid.
“It’s very hard on the people who live here in Preston and those who want to come here.”
Depending on their routes, drivers’ options may include Maple Grove Road, Highway 401, and giving in and pushing through the slowdowns on Shantz Hill and Fountain.
That last option might become less tenable for a lot of drivers, as the region’s construction plans call for Fountain to be closed between King and Marmel Court for five weeks.
Reid says city officials will be meeting with the region to see if there’s some way the planned work on Fountain can be put off.
“We will be talking to them about it, and I’m sure they’ll be receptive,” she says.
Jason Lane, a senior project manager with the Region of Waterloo, says the newness of the Speedsville closure makes it difficult to gauge its impacts on traffic, and whether that will lead to rethinking plans for Fountain.
“Until people get their bearings with that closure and while to go, there (are) a lot of random traffic patterns,” he says.
Despite the current headaches for drivers, Reid says she expects the project to prove worthwhile in the end – for drivers and everyone else in the area.
With reporting by Stu Gooden
