Big changes will be coming to Main Street North and the Viaduct in Saint John over the coming months.
Council has awarded a $3.4-million contract for the long-awaited Main Street active transportation improvements.
Deputy Mayor John MacKenzie said the multimillion-dollar project is long overdue for the city.
“We’ve been talking about Main Street now since 2012, and I’m happy to say that we’re there,” MacKenzie said during last Monday’s meeting.
“This construction season, we’re going to be putting in $3.5 million into that corridor from the north end to the southern peninsula.”
Main Street North and the Viaduct will be reduced from six vehicle lanes to four between Chesley Drive and Union Street, creating new space for pedestrians and cyclists.
The lanes will be separated from vehicle traffic by a buffer space as well as concrete barriers to create a physical separation for active transportation users from motor vehicles.
As part of the changes, the speed limit will also be reduced to 50 kilometres per hour from the current 60 along the corridor.
There will also be traffic calming measures for the six ramps along the Viaduct to “reduce or manage the higher speeds” and improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists.
All six ramps will be realigned so that their curves are more abrupt and meet Main Street and the Viaduct at a sharper angle.
In addition, a set of traffic lights will be installed at the Route 1 eastbound ramp to “minimize conflicts between pedestrians/cyclists and vehicles.”
A set of pedestrian-active crosswalk signals will be installed at the ramp to Route 1 westbound, while traffic signals will be used at the ramp from Route 1 eastbound beside the former Red Rose Tea building.
New traffic lights will also be installed at Main Street and Metcalf Street. They will include vehicle detection, audible pedestrian signals, tactile warning surface indicators, bike signals and bike boxes.
There will also be enhancements to transit stops along the corridor, which will involve adding transit lay-bys at several of the existing transit stops on Main Street, including next to the Mercantile building and on either side of Main Street near Portland Street.
The contract also includes a clause that will see the contractor fined $2,000 per working day, up to $50,000, if they do not meet the project schedule.
The project cost came in about $1.3 million higher than expected, according to a staff report presented to council at last week’s meeting.
Staff will defer the planned Rodney Street reconstruction project on the west side and use the additional funding to cover the shortfall.
