Kays Road Contracting Ltd., continued with the install of watermain on the Great Northern Trail this past week, currently positioned to enter the Mountain Station parking lot from the south. They’ve made good progress and completed the install of over 1km of watermain along the GNT from the top of Stanley Street to the Mountain Station parking lot over this past month. The detour along South Sheppard Road will remain in place for the duration of the project; however, the Great Northern Trail will open up south of the parking lot in limited capacity mid next week so that trail users have the option to use either route. Although the trail will re-open south of the parking lot, the construction on this section is not complete, and the trail is not anticipated to be resurfaced until August. In the meantime, if planning to use this section of the trail, please exercise caution as construction is ongoing.
This upcoming week, June 22-26, will be one of change, where the construction crew moves from a closed section of trail into the Mountain Station parking lot. Monday the 22nd, and Tuesday the 23rd will see single lane alternating traffic on Mountain Road immediately above the parking lot to facilitate a road crossing with the watermain. Traffic control personnel will be on-site and a work zone delineated at the south end of the parking lot. The parking lot will be congested and occupied with construction equipment. The use of the Svoboda Road access to the Great Northern Trail as an option to the Mountain Station lot may be the most prudent choice in order to avoid the congestion.
Toward the end of next week, the crew anticipates they will be commencing northward along the old rail bed, having completed the section through the parking lot. This section of trail also represents challenges, as the trail narrows at the existing Pressure Reducing Station and trail bypass options for pedestrians and cyclists are limited. A full trail closure, for a couple of hundred meters of trail north of the parking lot, is likely to happen early July. In the meantime, as the construction crew works in the parking lot, the traffic control and work zone will change daily as the work zone migrates across the back of the lot, along the gravel pathway, from south to north. Expect periodic delays and single lane alternating traffic in and around the parking lot as the crew works across the lot. Please be mindful of the construction zones, use the detours as directed, and pay attention to traffic control personnel and all construction signage.
This photo is taken from the Mountain Station parking lot looking south along the trail. The construction crew is approaching the parking lot. Existing utilities buried in the trail are marked with paint in the foreground.
The photo is looking north through the parking lot where the contractor is mobilizing materials and equipment for the installation of watermain northward along the trail.
This photo is of the City of Nelson’s Water Utility Pressure Reducing Station, located immediately to the north of the parking lot. Once the construction crew gets to this point, where the trail narrows, this portion of the trail will be closed. The blue paint marks visible on the trail in the foreground, mark the location of the existing water distribution mains buried beneath the trail.
