Downtown Reimagined Project Update

Beginning Monday, September 8 through Friday, September 12, crews will be carrying out test pit and borehole work in the downtown core as part of the design phase of the Downtown Reimagined Project.

Work locations

• Test Pits: Main Street, between Christie Street and Robinson Street North
• Boreholes:
• Main Street, between Christie Street and Patton Street
• Elm Street, between Mountain Street and Gibson Street
• Mountain Street, between Elm Street and Main Street

What to expect

• Temporary lane diversions and single-lane closures will be required.
• Crews will make every effort to maintain two lanes of traffic where possible, and at least one lane will remain open at all times.
• Work will be completed in stages:
• September 8–10: Daylighting test pits
• September 10–12: Geotechnical drilling. Work on Main Street West will pause September 11 to avoid disruption to the Farmers’ Market. Crews will focus on Elm Street that day.
• Holes will be filled in immediately following the work. No installations are being done at this time, and this is exploratory work is intended to inform the design phase of the Downtown Reimagined project.

Why this work is needed

• Test pits are small, temporary excavations that allow crews to look underground and confirm what is below the surface. In this case, the pits will help locate the old train tracks buried under Main Street. Identifying the exact location of the tracks ensures they are considered as part of the project’s design and scope of work.
• Boreholes are narrow, deep holes drilled into the ground to study soil and subsurface conditions. This work will provide important information needed to plan trenchless watermain crossings under the Forty Mile Creek. These crossings will use directional drilling with a launch and receiving pit on either side of the creek. Two crossings are planned: one on Elm Street and one on Main Street.

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We thank the community for their patience as this important work is carried out.