Construction crews in Hanover are trying to get as much work as possible completed before the next round of rain comes later this week.

Rob Driedger is Manager of Engineering and Utilities for the Rural Municipality of Hanover. He explains one of those projects is along Walnut Avenue in Mitchell, where crews are reconstructing the three block stretch from Third Street to Centre Street North.

Crews there are putting in land drainage sewer along the north side of Walnut Avenue, followed by some boulevard upgrades, construction of a concrete sidewalk and adding an asphalt overlay to the street.

Weather permitting, this project was supposed to be started on August 26th and under ideal conditions, be completed in two to three weeks. Yet, here we are, six weeks later, and the work is not yet wrapped up.

According to Driedger, crews were able to get the land drainage sewer installed before the arrival of all the rain. He adds there is about one block of concrete sidewalk installed and crews are drying the material in order to complete more of that work in this week's sunshine. If the rain arrives mid-week, Driedger guesses by then they will probably be left with one block of sidewalk to complete and then the asphalt overlay. He says the overlay will take a day or two to finish.

"Until we reach minus temperatures throughout the entire day, we are going to keep moving along," assures Driedger. "Worst case scenario we are expecting that maybe the landscaping will not all be complete and that we would have to finish that portion up in spring."

Another project that has been stymied by the rain has been the work on Hanover Road. On September 19th, crews began rebuilding the stretch from Road 30E to 31E, two miles south of Mitchell. Under ideal conditions, Driedger expected the work to be completed in about one week.

As of Monday afternoon, Driedger says they are about two-thirds finished. He suggests they need about three or four days of good weather to get that project wrapped up.

Both the Walnut Avenue and Hanover Road projects were budgeted to cost around $300,000. Even with the delays, Driedger says he anticipates they will stay within budget.

One final project is in Blumenort, where crews are attempting to build two blocks of concrete sidewalk along Rockridge Drive. Driedger explains because the excavation did not start before all the rain fell, the base is not super saturated. As a result, the contractor is making good progress and Driedger says there is a chance this project is completed by the end of the day on Tuesday. The total cost of the project is about $31,000.

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Hanover Road Construction Causes Busing Delays

Hanover Rebuild Starts Thursday

Walnut Reconstruction Begins Monday