Construction beginning on Waterloo Row – but it won't ruin summer, residents say

The City of Fredericton will begin nearly seven weeks of construction on Waterloo Row on Monday.

A press release said the project will cause major traffic disruption as Waterloo Row will be closed to through traffic from Dunns Crossing Road to the intersection of Waterloo Row and Forest Hill Road.

The road will be down to a single lane for approximately two weeks, with flaggers controlling traffic between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.

A full road closure will begin July 24, when the road is expected to remain closed for four weeks.

Traffic will be re-routed via Wilsey Road, Kimble Drive, and Forest Hill Road.

• Construction season kickoff: 22 road construction projects to hit Fredericton streets

• Get ready for some detours Fredericton, as construction season nears

However, Maureen Mckee Buck uses the busy road every day and she isn't worried.

"I've lived in Fredericton long enough to know that there's all sorts of other paths to get where I need to go," she said.

Mckee Buck and her husband Don are retired and drive through the area to visit Morell Park nearly every day. They enjoy the serenity along the St. John River and watching fish jump.

But Mckee Buck said not everyone has the luxury of time during construction season.

"I must say I feel a concern for tourists or people that don't know the city, and also for families that need to get to different places for different times," she said.

"It's quite an inconvenience."

'Accept it, that's it'

That inconvenience is something Barbara Cross knows well. She's lived on Waterloo Row almost her entire life.

She grew up in the same house she lives in now with her husband George. Her father built it in 1938 – the year she was born.

Cross had no idea the construction is set to happen. While she spends most of her days gardening, she worries what will happen when she does need to get somewhere.

"I understand it's really hard to get around the city and when you're going some place you haven't been for a while, you wonder whether you're going to be able to make it or not," Cross said.

"But anyway, it's summer. You have to do it. It'll be a nuisance if I can't get out to get something I really need or if we have an appointment to get to, but we'll work around it."

'Tune it out'

Mckee Buck shares that optimism.

"My initial reaction [to construction] is like, 'Agh, darn,' but then I go a little bit deeper and I go, 'No … this needs to happen,' and eventually you can tune it out," Mckee Buck said.

Cross said she and fellow residents and drivers will "cope because you always do."

"We'll drive through somebody's back yard and out the other street," she joked.

Pedestrian access will be maintained via the trail along the river.  The city said in a press release the closure is necessary for work required on the city's underground infrastructure.