Moose Jaw's High Street West named worst road in province

Business owners on Moose Jaw's High Street West are frustrated about road construction that has been going on since last year.

"It hasn't been paved yet, it is half gravel and it's pretty rough driving down the street. People will not drive down this street." says Moose Jaw downtown business owner Carmela Park " You definitely see a decrease in traffic for sure."

The roadway has become so notorious it received the number one spot in the 2018 CAA Worst Roads Campaign .

The work is part of a 20-year plan to fix the city's deteriorating water and sewer line over several phases.The city announced on May 1 that phase three has begun.

Ambulances don't even use this street anymore.- Carmela Park, business owner on High Street West 

Phase three will see a total of 2.7 kilometres of water main pipe replaced at eight locations across the city.  

The city of Moose Jaw as allocated $5.7 million dollars for this year's work and plans for this phase to wrap up in September before the winter freeze.

The work on High Street West started last year as part of phase two.

"Unfortunately the contractors were unable to finish the project in 2017 on High Street and that left a significant amount of work remain on that stretch, including concrete repair and excavation of course." said city spokesman Craig Hemingway.

"And then of course it needs to be repaved. So with it not happening by freeze up last fall, it was unable to be address in the winter."

He apologized on behalf of the city, calling the length of the work "frustrating."

For Park, who owns a shop on High Street West, there has been a noticable lack of any traffic.

"People don't come into your store if they can't get to it," she said. "Ambulances don't even use this street anymore."