One of the main roads to the Timmins airport will be temporarily closed this year.
A section of Airport Road will be closed to allow for the replacement of the Kraft Creek Bridge. Work will start in the spring and is expected to be complete in the fall.
At Tuesday’s meeting, council approved having Miller Paving do the project.
Staff has budgeted $4.5 million plus HST for the project in 2018. Three companies bid for the project, with Miller Paving’s being the lowest at $3.8 million plus HST.
During the closure, traffic will be rerouted to Laforest Road, which can be accessed by Highway 655 or MacLean Drive.
With one of the main roads to and from the airport being closed, Coun. Pat Bamford is worried about people heading to the airport at the last minute and not knowing that the bridge is out.
City staff has already been talking about a communications strategy, though.
Manager of Engineering Patrick Seguin said there will be signage on all of the major routes going into the road.
“We’re planning to do that like a long time ahead of closing the bridge so that people who’re on that commute will also see it,” he said.
The city was approved for funding for the work in 2016 through the Small Communities Fund, which has equal contributions (33.3 per cent each) from the municipal, provincial and federal governments. The money received through the grant must be spent by Dec. 31, 2020.
Read the full council report here.
