By Jill Sperling

Businesses along Victoria Street West fear impact from two-year project

Jul 27, 2018 | 4:44 PM

KAMLOOPS — The design phase for a massive road rehabilitation project on Victoria Street West is around 60 per cent complete. 

The project will replace sewer and water lines under the busy street, some of which date back to 1907. 

The infrastructure improvements and street upgrades are expected to take two years to complete. 

“Big changes, positive changes,” said City of Kamloops Capital Projects Manager Darren Crundwell. “The width of the road isn’t changing; we are undergrounding all the power, adding sidewalks on both sides. Now is the opportunity, we have to rip the whole road up replacing all the utilities, all the water, all the sewer. It’s some of the oldest infrastructure in the city.”

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Work on the $13 million project is expected to get underway in March 2019. It’s a date that business owners along the Victoria Street West corridor are dreading. 

“I’m actually pretty upset about it,” said Mindy Sandhu, co-owner of Stereo Warehouse. “Yes, Victoria Street needs to be upgraded, but two years is way too long, and not knowing how long even after that. So it’s fairly upsetting to us, not just because the city wants to do an upgrade, but the impact it’s going to have on our business.” 

Sandhu is anticipating a traffic nightmare once construction begins, and if that happens, she worries she will lose valuable business to other electronic stores in Kamloops. 

“My sister and I, this is it for us,” Sandhu said. “I mean, this business is our livelihood, this is the business that we’ve known how to do for the last 40 years, and it’s going to be devastating for my sister and I both.” 

Crundwell admits the project will have a major impact on the flow of traffic, adding the city is trying to be mindful of the effect it will have on businesses. 

“We’ve met with them a number of times, all the businesses,” he said. “We’re going to continue that engagement, especially as we move the detailed design along, trying to lessen the impact of construction on their businesses.” 

Some business owners are hoping construction will take place outside of business hours. 

“I’m not mad in the fact that I think it is going to beautify the city, it’s going to get rid of the post lines, it is going to be nicer,” said Andre Giasson, owner of Andre’s Tire World LTD and several other businesses along Victoria Street West. “But, they’ve got to work this thing during the night, not in the daytime when all the traffic is here and everything. They’ve got to make a night shift and go for it.”

Crundwell says overnight and weekend work could be considered, but would have to be discussed with the contractor.