Bad maps mean surprises underneath Dundas St., says downtown project manager

Tearing up Dundas St.'s aging infrastructure has yielded a lot of surprises, according to Jim Yanchula, the city's manager of downtown projects.

The storm sewers under Dundas St. date back to the 1970s; the sanitary sewers back to the 1870s. And throughout that time, Yanchula said mapping hasn't always been consistent.

"There will be times when pavement is broken, and there's a surprise on how a private drain connection is hooking up to the city's sewer pipes and it's not there any more, it crumbled over 150 years. Or coal chutes that were just boarded up and sidewalk was poured on," said Yanchula. 

"So these are things that happened over the course of decades and decades and decades, and no matter how hard you try to map what's underground, until you break ground you never know."

Some of those surprises, combined with unexpected weather issues, have meant minor delays in the construction schedule. But Yanchula maintains that come December, construction will wrap up and cars will be back on their regular paths.

To meet that deadline, the Dundas St. construction moved to a 24 hour a day, six day a week schedule last week. Yanchula said the shift hasn't gone unnoticed by those living in the downtown core.

"We have had a handful of complaints from people who are kept up at night by some of the late night work," he said. 

"We're trying to maximize the noisy stuff before midnight because we want to offer them the best chance we can for a decent night's sleep."

The project to update aging infrastructure and transform Dundas St. between Ridout St. and Wellington St. into a 'flex street' began in the spring and will cost $16 million. 

Since construction began, some downtown business owners have complained of flagging foot traffic and sales. Longtime Dundas fixture Runners' Choice even packed up its act after 28 years and moved to a new location on Springbank Drive.

But Yanchula said the city had no choice but to move ahead with construction. 

"Everybody wants to be sure the faucet will go on, the cable will work, the toilet will flush, and the people who build our civic infrastructure are the ones that provide us with that. When that civic infrastructure outlives its lifespan, it's time to upgrade it."

As of right now, Yanchula said the status of downtown construction is as follows:

• Talbot St. between Kent St. and Fullarton St. is open to vehicular traffic.
• Talbot St. and Dundas St. is open to vehicular traffic.
• Richmond St. and Dundas St. is closed.
• York St. is under construction between Ridout St. and Talbot St.