Crews contracted by the City of Kamloops are starting major road work tomorrow on McGill Road, near Thompson Rivers University.

Extreme Excavating will be replacing 450 metres of water main and other road work, between Columbia Street and Dalhousie Drive.

Tomorrow, the city says contractors will be removing pavement in the eastbound lanes of McGill Road from Unviersity Drive to Columbia Street, and commuters are told to expect minor delays. The sidewalk and bus stops will still be open.

On Sunday night and Monday night, from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., crews will be digging up the road at McGill Road and Summit Drive put in the new the water main.

And starting on Wednesday, crews will keep installing water main on the eastbound lanes of McGill Road near University Drive. That work will take about 10 days, and traffic will be at a single lane eastbound and two lanes westbound.

Work will continue through the fall, and the city expects it to be finished by November.

The project to replace the water main and other utilities will cost $1.43 million, which is being paid for out of reserves.

The city is aligning its work at the same time as construction being done for the “The Reach” development at Thompson Rivers University, where a private developer is moving underground utilities for a future project.

Taxpayers in Kamloops will not have to pay for any of the city-owned utilities being moved for “The Reach” development. The extent of the private utility work is not immediately clear. The city says doing its own utility work at the same time, while the road is already ripped up, is the most cost-efficient do to this project, which it says is much needed.