'It will start to take shape': Work near Hillsborough Bridge nears completion

Roadwork that has been going on for months near the Hillsborough Bridge in Charlottetown is on track to wrap up in September, an official with the city of Charlottetown says.

"Over the next couple weeks, a lot more activity is going to happen down there, and it will start to take shape," said Scott Adams, manager of public works for the city. 

Water Street is being reworked to cut through the Charlottetown Event Grounds and connect to Grafton Street, which is expected to help with traffic flow in the eastern end of the city and over the bridge to Stratford.

City officials had planned for the project to be wrapped by now but there were some issues on Grafton.

"When you're trying to work in an older area that you're trying to retrofit, there's always challenges, so those impact the schedule as well," said Adams. 

Such setbacks are built into the budget, he said — but they have pushed the completion date closer to the start of the P.E.I. International Shellfish Festival, which takes over the event grounds in less than four weeks.  

The lengthy project has taken a toll on drivers, with long lines of traffic not always restricted to the morning and afternoon rush hours. 

"Yesterday I took a lunch break and I left downtown around 2:30 p.m.," said Sophie Wheeler. "I didn't get home until 3:30, so that kind of messed with my work day."

Other commuters wondered why the work had to be done over the summer, when roads are packed with tourist traffic, or why it couldn't be rescheduled to less-busy times of the day. 

"I know other provinces and stuff, they do their construction in the evening, even, or overnight," said Maddy MacInnis. "I think it'd be way better overnight in Prince Edward Island, because after six o'clock, it's way easier to get everywhere." 

The city has said it considered overnight roadwork, but finding companies willing to work that way is difficult. 

Adams said there are two large pipes left to install, which should help with drainage during heavy rainstorms.

Once that's done, the public will see more noticeable changes, he promised — saying the project is indeed expected to wrap up by the end of September 

"Once you start to get out of the underground work, it will start to look different, and that's where we are at," he said.