As fall sets in, the Metral Drive Corridor Plan continues with its construction. So far, the project has not seen any delays.
“We definitely had challenges along the way. We will continue to have challenges in regards to traffic control because there are a number of people who live and work in the area,” said the project’s spokesperson, Annalisa Fipke. “However, from an overall perspective, the project has gone really well and we’ve received really good feedback from the individuals living on the street as well as those who are using it— biking and cycling, running and walking.”
The section between Mostar to Turner has been completed outside of some ‘landscaping’ work that’s to be completed during fall.
The section between Turner Road to Aulds Road began construction in mid-July and is expected to finish in summer of 2022. Fipke states that contractors will be working on the underground utilities first before moving above-ground. As construction continues, the road will be single-lane alternating.
She states the area had been identified as in need of upgrades due to aging utilities. This included things such as improvements to the road surface and replacing the water mains.
“Given that we were gonna be ripping up the road anyway, it provided an opportunity for us to look at the corridor and see how we could improve it from a ‘Complete Street’ perspective,” said Fipke. “Given that the multi use trail terminates more or less at Mostar, we wanted to be able to get individuals who are cycling and biking— using active modes [of transportation]— to be able to navigate to Woodgrove without having to go on either of the highways or having to go on Metral itself, which lacked a lot of facilities. There were minimal sidewalks, no cycling structure.”
While the project is not part of Reimagine Nanaimo, she states a lot of the same principals are present.
Fipke added that from the traffic point of view, the city is grateful to the ‘individuals who are rerouting and respecting the work zone and keeping the workers safe. Just encouraging people that typically used Metral Drive as a commuting route to find alternate routes.’
More information about the background of the project is available on the City of Nanaimo’s website.
