Businesses in Campbell Business Park are now more accessible than ever after the city officially opened Veness Road to traffic Tuesday afternoon.
A public works vehicle drove through a banner to signify the completion of the $3.5-million project.
“This kind of finishes off this end as far as the city is concerned,” said Mayor Nolan Crouse. “We don’t have any holdings here. The land is either for sale or sold.”
Approved in the 2012 budget, the project was a complete rebuild of Veness Road from Corriveau Road to a shared access with the St. Albert Gazette’s new building in Campbell. The work included removing the old gravel road and replacing it with one built to an arterial standard in order to accommodate increased truck traffic.
The opening of Anthony Henday Drive last year has brought increased interest to Campbell Park as one of the city’s few zoned industrial areas.
“This isn’t just about one or two employers or about public works. The beneficiaries here will be businesses who need employees, who have trucks moving in and out,” Crouse said.
Duff Jamison, president of Great West Newspapers, which owns the Gazette, said the road is an important development.
“The rebuilt Veness Road is an important asset for everyone on the business park and an important marker in the city's economic development,” Jamison said. “It greatly improves access to North Campbell for all vehicles and especially the heavy trucks servicing the businesses that back onto it.”
The road opening was originally scheduled for late September, but was pushed back because of delays due to heavy rainfall over the summer. That same rainfall pushed back work on other road projects, such as the rebuild of Mission Avenue and construction of phase three of Ray Gibbon Drive.
Crouse said Veness Road is the last piece of the puzzle for the city’s upgrades to roads related to Anthony Henday Drive. Next summer will see reconstruction of the southern part from Corriveau Avenue to Boudreau Road at a cost of approximately $2.5 million, provided council approves the project in the 2013 capital budget.
In future years the city will turn its eyes to work on St. Albert Trail, as well as Villeneuve Road, as developers such as Melcor continue planning to bring their lands on stream.
LeClair Way did open this fall. Project manager Larry Galye said the only remaining work is landscaping and trail construction.
“We’ll keep the road open during those components but there may be some lane restrictions,” Galye said.
As for Ray Gibbon Drive, crews are still performing drainage work but actual road construction won’t resume until spring, Galye said.
Mission Avenue opened to traffic Monday after crews laid down a temporary road in some spots near the intersection with Perron Street, as well as the entire length of Mission from Father Jan School to Mount Royal Drive.
The road was ripped out to install new stormwater pipes. It was supposed to be finished in September but the summer rains set back construction.
“We’re kind of monitoring it daily because of the temporary (road) in place. We had one area that sunk a bit, so we were back today,” said capital projects manager Sue Howard.
Improvements to St. Albert Trail between Villeneuve Road and Giroux Road were also hampered by weather and will be finished next year. The planned sidewalk along St. Albert Trail will be finished, but temporary asphalt has been laid down at the right-hand turn lane on Villeneuve Road. The work will be finished in 2013.
