Kent Driscoll
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (June 08/05) - Dust, noise, digging and paving are as common as 20 hours of sunshine in a Yellowknife summer.

It's part of $4.7 million in road work and water and sewer upgrades.

The city has budgeted $1.85 million for road rehabilitation and $2.85 for water and sewer.

While the city expects to have a tentative schedule for the work by next week, the construction season is already in full swing.

"Construction should be finished by Sept. 15," said municipal works engineer Chris Greencorn.

The disruption has already started on School Draw Avenue, but an early start hopefully means an early finish.

"School Draw should be finished by the end of June," said Greencorn.

Wanda Waugh has lived on School Draw Avenue and this is the quietest summer she can remember.

Construction stops at 5 p.m. and a detour diverts traffic from the busy street to Franklin Avenue.

"It's made this road quiet," said Waugh. "In the summer time, it's usually a race track here. Now, they go up Franklin."

Water and sewer

Areas of the city that get water and sewer work will remain unpaved over the winter.

"We let the soil settle over the winter," said Greencorn. "If the ground is going to move, it's going to move over the winter.

Clark Mancino knows all about it, he lives at the corner of Rycon Drive and Con Road.

"They did Con Road before, so we've been putting up with gravel for four years now. It's the disadvantage of being a corner house," said Mancino.

The city plans to pave Rycon Avenue this summer, something he's looking forward to, so he can enjoy the corner lot he's owned for nine years.

Turn left at the arrow

The intersection at Old Airport Road and Range Lake Road, directly across from Stanton Territorial Hospital, will be widened.

The city is adding a left-turn lane and left-turn signals, to help traffic flow at the busy intersection.

A city study stated that the 108-unit apartment complex on the corner that opens in July could increase traffic by 20 per cent.

Already vehicles turning left from Range Lake Road onto Old Airport can back up past the Monkey Tree.

John Bui works at his family's business, Linh's Convenience, near the Monkey Tree gas bar.

He wants the new lane, but says business could suffer during construction.

"Three months ago they blocked the road for a day. I can remember that day, it was so dead here," said Bui.

He likes the turn lane though.

"A lot of our customers were complaining about (the problems turning). They suggested we call City Hall," said Bui.

where:

Road upgrade

0/00 Intersection of Old Airport Road and Range Lake Road: left-turn lane is being added to Range Lake Road.

Sewer and Water

These areas will have sewer and water work done over the summer, and will remain unpaved until next summer:

0/00 School Draw Avenue, scheduled to be done by the end of June

0/00 Gitzel Street from Franklin Avenue to Dakota Court

0/00 The lower end Hordal Road, near Bagon Drive

Paving

All paving projects are scheduled to be complete by Sept. 15:

0/00 Old Airport Road from the Co-op to the Yellowknife Chrysler

0/00 Rycon Drive

0/00 Enterprise Drive in the Kam Lake subdivision

0/00 Range Lake Road from Hordal Road to Lamoureux Road

0/00 part of Dusseault Court

0/00 part of Bigelow Crescent

0/00 part of Williams Avenue

0/00 part of Woolgar Avenue

0/00 Forrest Drive Trailer Park

0/00 Multiplex access road (work began June 1)