Typical Construction This Year, Says City

The construction rolls on, but that's it for Guelph Remastered according to a City of Guelph press release:

GUELPH, ON, April 12, 2011 – After its massive infrastructure renewal program, Guelph is preparing for a more typical road construction season this year and wrapping up Guelph Remastered.

"The Guelph Remastered campaign did what typical road construction signs couldn’t do," says Tara Sprigg, Manager, Corporate Communications. "Guelph Remastered connected people to important information and helped residents understand that more than 20 construction projects were part of one huge infrastructure renewal program."

The City tracked the campaign and its effects on stakeholders throughout the year and found that Guelph Remastered met its intended objectives. The campaign reached the majority of residents and increased awareness of the City’s plans for construction in 2010. Over the course of the campaign, residents came to understand that Guelph was completing about five years worth of work in just 12 months to meet the Federal and Provincial funding deadline.

Findings also show the Guelph Remastered campaign had positive effects on people’s perceptions of construction upgrades in general, and on loyalty to shops and services. More than 90 per cent of those polled consider it important for the City to undertake construction projects, and awareness that shops and services would be open for business during construction increased from 73 per cent to 81 per cent during the campaign.

As part of the campaign, the City developed new online tools including a construction e-bulletin and an interactive traffic map. These improved online tools proved particularly successful, and will remain on guelph.ca to help people navigate construction detours again this year.

"We still have some paving, line marking and landscaping to do on some of the projects we worked on last year, and we’re glad to have the funding deadline extended to October 31 so we can finish work on the inter-modal transit terminal and Wyndham Street Rail bridge," says City Engineer, Richard Henry. "We’ll also be working on this year’s regular infrastructure renewal program. You’ll see crews on the streets again this year, but we’re not planning as much work on major routes."

Guelph’s plans for construction in 2011 and ongoing construction updates will be posted on the City’s website at guelph.ca/construction.

In 2009, the City began work on more than 20 infrastructure upgrades on roads, sewers, water systems, bike lanes and buildings. The projects must be completed by October 31 2011 to take advantage $48 million in Federal and Provincial Infrastructure Stimulus Funds. Guelph's Infrastructure Stimulus projects are listed on the City's website at guelph.ca > living > planning, building, engineering > road construction.