Along a section of King Street in uptown Waterloo, construction workers have been replaced by archeologists.
In a message sent to businesses in the area, the Region of Waterloo says that construction had “slowed” between William and Erb streets due to the discovery of what is believed to be an old corduroy road.
Corduroy roads, also known as log roads, were some of the first trails built in the area.
Made with sand-covered logs, they provided for better navigation than mud or dirt paths, particularly in low-lying and swampy areas.
This particular corduroy road was discovered last week, by an excavator operator.
“Currently, licensed archaeologists are on-site and we are awaiting the results of their findings,” the message reads.
“Once we have those, we’ll know what our next steps are.”
Waterloo Mayor Dave Jaworsky said he was in favour of crews taking time to “take a close look” at anything significant found beneath King Street.
“We are built on a historical site here, so we’re bound to find things that predate the known history,” he said.
The stretch of King in question has been closed since early February, for what authorities said at the time would be nine months of construction.
It is known whether the discovery will have any impact on the construction schedule, a spokesperson for GrandLinq told CTV News.
