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| Workers from Bowsers Construction grade South Albion Street in preparation for paving on Monday. The base coat should be in place later this week with the top coat of asphalt laid as early as next week. Darrell Cole - Amherst Daily News |
The operator of McDonald's is counting the days until the project comes to a conclusion.
"I can't wait for it to come to an end, it just seems like it's never going to end," said Moore. "It's negatively affecting our business. When it was originally presented to us, they thought mid-summer or late August at the end of it. Now it's looking like the end of September."
Moore said people are avoiding South Albion Street because of the project and while he understands its importance, he's concerned with its timing during his restaurant's busiest period. He's also a little miffed that traffic was constantly reduced to one lane when the town said at the beginning reductions would be minimal.
Project co-ordinator Kraig Morris understands concerns raised by the business community along the street and said the pain is almost over.
"We can definitely see the light at the end of the tunnel," Morris said Monday. "We're going to end up finishing a couple of weeks later than planned, but considering a project this size and the challenges faced in terms of weather, it's not too bad."
Morris said final preparations are being made to the centre strip of the project and work on laying the base coat of pavement should begin as early as today and no later than Wednesday.
"By this weekend the dust should be gone," Morris said. "The big rush is to get the base coat in place."
Once the base coat is laid between Robert Angus Drive and Costin Drive, Costin Paving will wrap up the entire project by laying the top coat of asphalt from the town boundary to Poplar Street.
Costin Paving has already put the base coat on its portion of the project.
Morris said the next day or so will be tough as Bowsers finishes the fine grading of the roadbed in preparation for paving.
dcole@amherstdaily.com
