Edmonton construction season wraps up

Construction on the replacement of Latta Bridge along Jasper Avenue was recently complete on-time and on-budget, but it left nearby businesses feeling the effects of the year-long road closure.

“As soon as they closed the bridge I lost clients. It was a very hard time,” explained Berhe Teweled, Owner of Zee Barber Shop. “It was a hard time, it was very slow. Obviously, people had to go around.”

The Owner of Zee Barber Shop is happy to see the road open — flowing with traffic — but wishes the city could have provided some sort of support to struggling businesses.

“I was like a ghost town, no one was walking, everything was blocked, less cars. I didn’t think I was going to make it.”

While there are no specific grants or incentives currently to help businesses impacted by construction, City council did pass a motion in a tight 7-6 vote last month and will explore the next steps in January.

“We do our best to support our businesses during construction efforts, and try to keep focused on the end product, which is whatever the infrastructure improvement is adjacent to the business will help the business long-term,” said Adam Laughlin, Deputy City Manager of Integrated Infrastructure Services.

With snow on the horizon, the City of Edmonton is wrapping up its construction season- saying it was a successful year. The city worked on more than 200 projects and say more than 94 per cent were on budget and nearly 80 per cent on schedule.

“With every project design and construction detour, we are building Edmonton with purpose,” said Mayor Amarjeet Sohi. “We are building a city people are proud to call home. The work we’re doing together is necessary for our growing city and is guided by The City Plan.”

The long-awaited ValleyLine southeast LRT was recently completed 3 years behind schedule. But the work continues for other major projects in the city such as the Yellowhead Trail Freeway Conversion and the LRT connecting west Edmonton to downtown.

While the construction, road closures, and detours may cause headaches for some. The City says these major infrastructure projects are an important investment for everyone.

“With these major transformational projects, there is a risk that there will be an impact, and how we respond to that and deliver what Edmontonians are expecting from an infrastructure perspective is of utmost importance. We won’t jeopardize quality and we won’t jeopardize safe and reliable service,” said Laughlin.

For Zee’s Barber Shop they’re unsure when or if business will return to normal now that construction is complete, but are feeling optimistic.

“I feel good, I feel confident when I see a lot of traffic, It gives you some hope when you see some traffic,” said Teweled.