Yukon road officials warn Hamilton Blvd. extension not usable yet
Last Updated: Friday, July 3, 2009 | 11:18 AM CT
CBC News
Work on extending Hamilton Boulevard in Whitehorse is ahead of schedule, but Yukon government officials want people to keep off the roadwork until it's officially finished.
Paving crews have recently laid down new asphalt on the $15-million extension, which may open to traffic as early as next month.
That has prompted some people to give the new road surface a test run now, said Matt King, a spokesman for the Department of Community Services.
"People have been actually driving on it and walking on it and different things," King told CBC News on Thursday.
"We just ask people to please stay off of the extension project on Hamilton Boulevard until it's completed, and there'll be an announcement when it is ready."
Once completed, the extension will give commuters from the city's Granger and Copper Ridge subdivisions a second connection to the Alaska Highway near Robert Service Way.
King said crews are still installing traffic lights, painting lines and putting up 2½ kilometres of guardrails on the extension, at the intersection with the Alaska Highway.
"Makes it look like it's quite an inviting place to go, but it is not quite done yet," he said.
"It's still a construction zone, and we expect that the road will be open sometime in early- to mid-August."
Approximately 7,000 people live in Copper Ridge, the fastest-growing subdivision in Whitehorse.
As a result, traffic has been backed up in the area during morning commutes. City officials have feared a traffic nightmare should an emergency arise during rush hour.
Work to extend Hamilton Boulevard began in the fall of 2007, with the job initially slated to be done in 2008.
However, construction was delayed after a blasting error sent rocks flying onto some nearby homes in May 2008.
