Beech Street Upgrades Being Put On Hold

Upgrades for Beech Street are being put on hold.

Upgrades for Beech Street are being put on hold.

Work on Beech, between Alder Street and 10th Avenue, is being rescheduled in order to ensure that the City’s financial resources are responsibly allocated.

A recent tender process for the construction work proposed for this summer returned a single proposal that significantly exceeded the budget identified for the project, reflecting industry-wide challenges with materials costs and staffing, and the relatively short turnaround period proposed.

Mayor Andy Adams says council is committed to seeing the Beech Street renewal project completed as another important step in improving the infrastructure and a refreshed downtown.

He says that with rising costs and supply chain issues, he's confident the delay is the fiscally responsible and right decision. The revised schedule will see an engineering review later this summer or early fall, with a new tender to follow.

This stage of the downtown upgrades is the result of an opportunity presented by the proposed construction of a mixed residential-commercial building on a currently-undeveloped lot on Beech Street.

Upgrades in the area will include new water, sewer and storm mains, an upgraded roadway constructed to meet Urban Local Commercial Standards, and pedestrian-friendly upgrades like improved lighting, crosswalks, and boulevards. Construction is now targeted to start in spring 2023.