Construction workers can be seen working on Victoria Street West on May 24, 2019.

(SHELBY THEVENOT / iNFOnews.ca)

KAMLOOPS — The Victoria Street West construction is going up to a 24-hour schedule this weekend.

The contractors, Extreme Excavating will start the augmented hours on Sunday, May 26, according to a City of Kamloops media release.

Since the construction began on April 15, the work has been implemented in 12-hour shifts from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The City anticipates that upgrading to a 24-hour schedule for the next six to eight weeks will shorten the duration from winter, 2020 to a target completion of summer, 2020.

“In the initial stages of planning, it was felt that this project would be complete by winter 2020. However, Extreme Excavating has been very innovative in helping us identify ways to shorten the duration of construction and thereby minimize the impact on the businesses affected and on commuting traffic,” Capital Projects Manager Darren Crundwell says in the release. “This move to a 24-hour construction schedule for the next six to eight weeks will allow work to proceed much faster and ultimately will shorten the initial duration of the project by four to six months, bringing the target project completion to summer, 2020.”

The contractors will make the decision whether to switch to single-lane, alternating traffic during evening as the night work progresses. During daytime hours, two lanes of traffic will be maintained.

Stage One work continues and will overlap with Stage Two work until approximately the end of July 2019, and includes the construction taking place between 1 Avenue and the centre island at the Seymour Street West and Victoria Street West intersection.

Current traffic flow patterns will remain in place, the release says. Transit and emergency services will continue to have priority routing around the construction site. 

Stage Two will encompass the Victoria Street West corridor from Seymour Street West near B.C. Lottery Corporation’s upper parking lot entrance to just west of Boomers Automotive near the Overlanders Bridge.

All businesses along the Victoria Street West corridor are open and accessible, including those located within Stage One, below the B.C. Lotteries lot, and those located on both sides of the road within Stage Two.

"Please be courteous and allow motorists exiting from businesses, parkades, and on-street parking stalls to merge into traffic," the release says. "Motorists are reminded of the posted 30 km/h speed limit throughout the construction zone and are asked to use caution and courtesy when driving in the area and utilize proper zipper merging etiquette."

Go to the City's website to view project staging plans, Stage 1 business access map, traffic webcams, construction photos, and more.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Shelby Thevenot or call (250) 819-6089 or email the editor You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

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News from © iNFOnews, 2019