Another change in traffic flow will start Thursday morning in Steinbach. This is to accommodate the work being done at the Highway 12 and Loewen Boulevard intersection.
The City of Steinbach would like to inform the public that beginning early Thursday morning, businesses that are located at 2, 6 and 8 along Highway 12, will be able to be accessed through a new approach. These are businesses located in the northwest quadrant of the Highway 12 and Loewen Boulevard intersection, that would normally be accessed by Highway 12. The new approach and temporary gravel lane will be located along Loewen Boulevard, west of Highway 12 until further notice.
According to the City, this update to the traffic management plan will allow pavement work to be completed on southbound Highway 12 while maintaining access to the businesses located in the northwest corner of the Loewen Boulevard and Highway 12 intersection.
The City states that the service road along Highway 12, Loewen Boulevard from Highway 12 to the east side of the driveway of 5 Loewen Boulevard, and a portion of eastbound Millwork Drive approaching the service road/ Highway 12 will continue to be closed.
Both southbound and northbound traffic on Highway 12 will continue to use the northbound lanes south of Millwork Drive until south of Elmdale Street.
Right-in/right-out access from northbound Highway 12 to Loewen Boulevard east of Highway 12 will remain.
The City thanks all drivers and residents for exercising caution and following signage when travelling in the area, and for their patience as work on the Loewen Boulevard/ Highway 12 intersection renewal project continues.
Aaron Rach is head engineer for the City of Steinbach. He notes crews are between one and two weeks ahead of schedule on this project. Rach says work resumed near the end of May and the contractor was able to complete the Elmdale drain crossing. Following that, crews started the roadwork on Loewen Boulevard, west of Highway 12. Rach says that work is nearly complete, prompting a reopening of the section Thursday morning. He notes access to Highway 12 will remain closed until later in the project.
Rach says paving is also underway along southbound Highway 12. He notes the main line paving should be completed within the next couple of weeks and then the smaller concrete and asphalt work will follow.
For motorists who may have recently seen new concrete removed from the southbound lanes, Rach says that was because midway through their pour there was an issue with the elevation of the work being done.
"In order to maintain the high quality and performance standards, the work was halted, and the concrete was removed and that work has now been corrected," explains Rach. "Fortunately, the work was stopped before there was too much progress on that particular pour."
Rach adds the concrete was still wet and had yet to stiffen, which made the removal that much easier.
Despite this setback, Rach says overall progress has been going very well this year and crews are now between one and two weeks ahead of schedule.
Meanwhile, Rach says work in the southbound lanes should wrap in late July. At that point, traffic will switch to the west side of the median.
According to Rach, the entire project should be completed by the end of this construction season.
With files from Kenton Dyck