Abridged articles from today's T&T
(Road) Construction season busier than normal
One of the upcoming highlights in the Moncton area is a $432,000 resurfacing of Coverdale Road from Blythwood Avenue to Trites Road, which is expected to begin in August and end in October.
The Mapleton Road construction project continues and is on schedule for an October completion. It may seem as if work has halted there at the moment, but that's only because crews have been working at night, removing wooden forms from the new section of the bridge deck and doing drilling work, while preparing another section of the bridge for waterproofing and paving.
Construction around Berry Mills and Horsman Road continues, with Horsman still remaining closed and the project being about 25 to 30 per cent complete, according to Richard.
He said Horsman is expected to be able to reopen in about a week.
A resurfacing and realigning of the off ramps on St. George Boulevard in front of Bernice MacNaughton School is just getting going and Richard said they are at least hoping to have the street lights installed by the time school starts.
Richard said work along Killam Drive near the Collishaw intersection continues and the major work should be completed in about another week, while construction on Gorge Road is about 60 per cent complete and is in line to be finished by October.
Meanwhile, work on Millenium Boulevard is about 25 per cent completed according to Richard and is still on schedule.
In Dieppe, the major project continues to be construction improvements to Paul Street. A city spokesperson said the project is going smoothly and is still on schedule for the end of the year. Work is going to be done to Melanson Road shortly to help reduce traffic speed on the street, but it shouldn't cause major traffic delays.
Starting the week of Aug. 9, a traffic circle will be constructed on the corner of Gould and Notre Dame and in the next two weeks there will also be work beginning on Gauvin Road between LaFrance Street and Thomas Street, although it's not expected to cause major traffic delays.
Meanwhile in Riverview, there is resurfacing work planned for Whitepine Road, Point Park Drive and Avondale Drive, while many other streets have already been resurfaced.
Famed chocolate can be found in Riverview
Ganong Chocolates opened up shop in the Fundy Chocolate River Station yesterday
The Fundy Chocolate River Station on Coverdale Road, located in the old Riverview fire hall, is home to the new shop where one can find the bones, jelly beans, double-dipped cherries and of course, many types of premium chocolate.
"All of the chocolate that's in here is what we call hand crafted' and it's hand-made by four ladies who work in St. Stephen," Melvin says, "The only places you can get these types of chocolates is here, St. Stephen or through the mail-order."
She believes that just having the name Ganong at the store front will bring in many customers for years to come.
And the great location helps, too.
"We love this location and we work closely with the other two shops," Melvin says, "With the maple products (Briggs), they actually do chocolate-dipped stuff that we sell in St. Stephen, and Olivier Soap has a Ganong Chocolate-scented soap."
Besides herself, Melvin has two full-time employees and two students selling and promoting the goodies. A grand opening for the facility is slated for mid-September in conjunction with Briggs Maples and the Olivier Soapery.
Melvin says it'll be a large opening that's fun for all.
"We're going to do a week-long opening full of activities."
(Crossman) Community centre receives $2M boost from gov't
The three levels of government committed to contributing more than $2 million to the construction of a new gymnasium and the completion of an indoor walking track.
The breakdown of the total number is as follows: $502,000 from the federal government through its Canada Economic Action Plan; $1.5 million from the Province of New Brunswick and $1 million from the City of Moncton.
Originally set for closure in 2002, the Kay Arena saw a swell of public support in the years that followed. The committee that was put in place had its first major success in 2008, when Phase 1 of its project was completed: the replacement of the old arena. The hope had been to complete the whole complex at once, but cost overruns forced the committee to seek a two-phase approach.
But with the funding announced last night, as well as the $500,000 secured by the fundraising committee, Hennessey is looking forward to the completion of a true year-round community centre in the eastern section of Moncton.
The completion of Phase 2 will be especially pleasing to seniors in the area, for whom the walking track was a big wish, while the gymnasium will be the first such facility owned by the City of Moncton.
All three levels of government were represented at last night's funding announcement, held in the packed lobby of the Crossman Community Centre/Kay Arena. Minister of National Revenue and of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) Keith Ashfield, New Brunswick's senior MP in Ottawa, was on hand along with Premier Shawn Graham and Moncton Deputy Mayor Paulette Thériault.
Deputy Mayor Thériault praised the Centre's incredible hospitality, as well as the increased accessibility it will now benefit from with the completion of Phase 2. She also directed attention to representatives of the Crossman family in the audience, noting that the community centre is very much a part of the legacy of the late Ward 1 Councillor Norman Crossman.
Applications for tender with regards to Phase 2 will be accepted until the end of the summer
Downtown wetland nearly complete
City of Moncton had to create new wetland space after extending Vaughan Harvey Blvd. to meet Gunningsville Bridge
An ambitious $821,000 project by the City of Moncton to transform a piece of land near the Gunningsville Bridge into a wetland his nearly complete and will provide a luxurious home for ducks, geese and other wildlife.
COLE BURSTON/TIMES & TRANSCRIPT
The wetlands next to the Gunningsville Bridge are nearing completion, as little shrubs and trees have been planted to spruce up the area. Elaine Aucoin, environmental program co-ordinator for the City of Moncton, said the wetland project should be finished by the end of August.
Over the last month or so, the piece of land has been transformed from a little vacant piece of property with a natural duck pond into a park with trees, walking paths and natural vegetation.
The project began in June to replace ecologically important wetland lost when the city extended Assomption Boulevard and Vaughan Harvey Boulevard to link up with the new Gunningsville Bridge, which crosses the Petitcodiac River to Riverview. The area around the bridge has undergone major developmental changes in the last few years with construction of Vaughan Harvey Extension. As morning commuters drive to work, they can often see ducks and geese in the ponds and on the ball fields, and wild ring-necked pheasants patrolling the area. On some occasions, traffic has come to a complete stop as families of ducks or geese cross the road.
When the city paved over part of the existing wetland to create Vaughan Harvey Extension, it was bound by provincial law to compensate and create another wetland of the same size.
The large stones that had been on the site since the dismantling of the old Gunningsville Bridge were removed and taken to Centennial Park. The whole area has been dug up and the dirt sculpted to create a series of hills with walking trails and an extension of the saltwater marsh from the Petitcodiac River.
Peace Centre continues to take shape in downtown
"Work is ready to start immediately on the peace tower and we are expected to be able to move in there in late spring of 2011," she said, noting that fencing has been erected in the parking lot behind Central United Church, located at 150 Queen Street. "The foundation and all that, that's going to happen first. Their goal will be to get the structure closed in before winter sets in and then with the goal of having us there in late spring. This is a pretty exciting time for me to see this happen. I just believe that this project is going to be a benefit to our communities for many, many years to come."
The idea of the Peace Centre is to bring agencies that help people together in one central location so they can share resources and ideas while becoming a beacon for wellness in the community. The facilities at Central United Church have been renovated and will act as home base for this centre, while a new office tower is to be erected in the next year.
Non-profit organizations that are involved and plan to be situated in the centre include Family Service Moncton, Early Childhood Stimulation, the Multicultural Association of the Greater Moncton Area (MAGMA), the United Way of Greater Moncton and Southeastern New Brunswick Region and The Volunteer Centre of Southeastern New Brunswick.
Vautour-MacKay said they have also had interest expressed from a number of other tenants who want to move into the facilities and MAGMA has already made the new premises at Central United Church their home.
She added that the church phase of the project is now over 75 per cent complete and the rest of the work will be done simultaneously on the excavation and preparations for the building of the new tower.
"The plans are finished, the architect has finished all the designs and now the tenders are going out for the construction part of it," she said, noting there has also been an environmental focus with this project.
"We're really focused on being as energy efficient as we can, as green as we can and there have been ... heating and cooling systems that have already been installed that will actually benefit the tower once it's built. We're looking at all sorts of energy efficient ways to create this complex."
In February, the Peace Centre project was given a major boost when all three levels of government combined announced funding of $4.4 million, which allowed the project to go forward. Vautour-MacKay said support from government, the local community and municipality has been vital to the success of this project, which she anticipates will make a big difference in the community.
"This is going to be not only helpful for the people we serve, but certainly helpful within the network of non-profits that will be within the building," she said. "We're going to be able to share so many resources and (by) doing that, (be) able to serve the community in a far greater way than we have been in the past."
Meanwhile, construction on the project has caused closure of one of the entrances to Capitol Theatre. From now until an indefinite date, all vehicles looking to drive into the Capitol Theatre parking lot must go through the Robinson Street entrance, as the Church Street gate will be used as an exit only.
Vautour-MacKay said there are also still spaces in the Peace Centre for any community groups looking to lease a location. Anyone interested in finding out more information is asked to contact Wayne Mattice at 386-8567.