It’s that time of year again. Road construction and city infrastructure repairs are about to slow things down considerably in the city of Barrie. Drivers are bracing for the delays and detours. “If you know the back streets and that, you can get around them. They’re kind of a pain in the neck. When a lot of the arteries are closed off at the same time, then you have to sit and wait,” says Linda Cortese, a Barrie resident. The City of Barrie will spend about $125 million on road work and other essential projects this year. The Sophia Street trunk storm sewer project is one of the bigger and most needed upgrades taking place in the city this summer. Crews were on site pouring new concrete Wednesday. “The whole purpose is to mitigate and try to improve the storm water drainage in the area and prevent any flooding from the private property in downtown Barrie,” says Ken Lin with the City of Barrie. The City is also completing a project along Mapleview Drive from Yonge Street to Prince Willaim Way. The road will be widened so new storm water infrastructure will be built. All of this to support planned growth leading up to 2031. After being identified as a key transportation corridor, Bayview Drive will see road work continue this summer after starting last summer. Again, wider roads, new cycle tracks and sidewalks are on the to do list, making for another summer of delays and slowdowns along Bayview Drive. Local businesses understand the need for the work, but just fear the effects of it. “It will be nice to see everything done, but it’s definitely a disappointment for sure, absolutely,” says Patty McNichol from MMM Donuts on Bayview Drive. “To be fair, I was told that it’s not supposed to impact businesses too much, but I mean, that’s what we were told last time as well and it impacted us a lot.” The work in Barrie’s downtown will focus on sidewalk and curb improvements at the Owen Street and McDonald Street intersection. Once this work is complete, the contractor will close a section of Owen Street until the fall. Drivers in the city are being asked to be prepared for delays and detours all summer long.
