Kamloops city staff say the last bit of paving work through the Victoria Street West construction zone won’t happen tomorrow because of the recent snowfall.

Capital Projects Manager Darren Crundwell says crews are still hoping to starting paving the final 200 metre stretch of road on Thursday, but that will depend on how dry the work site is.

“If the weather totally turned on us, we can still get out and pave it, but the quality won’t be there,” he said. “We may have to redo a chunk in the spring. Ideally though, we want to make sure that the base gravel has dried out and that we’ve got the density in that before we put the asphalt on top.”

Crundwell is confident that the weather will cooperate long enough to allow the paving work east of the Overlanders Bridge near Craftsman Collision and Signature Signs and Printing to be completed this year.

“This is one of the tightest pinch-points in the project, and we know we are having a huge impact on those business, and it’s frustrating,” he added, while noting the delay is a little frustrating because the project is so close to the end.

“You know we are looking at the winter season here so we need to maintain the roads. I mean when you phase construction projects, that’s the cost of doing business sometimes, you have to put somethings down knowing that you are going to take it out in the spring,” Crundwell said.

“If we can’t ensure this year that we get the quality and the product that we are looking for in the paving, we may have to consider that. But right now, it looks like we’ll find a window.”

He says crews will need about eight hours to finish paving work, and he says the city will give residents as much notice as possible as to when that work will take place.

“We may change it based on a day to day basically,” Crundwell said. “You know, it’ll be the contractor looking in the morning and saying, ‘I think we can get it done today.'” We’ll have all of the information out to the public on what those closures are going to look like. But the actual commitment to the paving time and date itself will be kind of a last minute thing.”

He’s asking people can avoid the corridor while paving is going on to do so, unless they need to visit one of the businesses in the area.

(Photo via City of Kamloops)