The widening of Marquis Road started at the end of May. (Nick Nielsen/paNOW)

By paNOW Staff

Capital projects

Residents voice concerns over ongoing roadwork; City says it’s on track

Aug 13, 2025 | 5:24 PM

Some residents in Prince Albert are frustrated with a perceived lack of progress when it comes to road work in the city.

Hilary Orosz said two separate projects are blocking two of the major arterial routes she would normally take to work each day; the widening of Marquis Road and an upgrade to a storm main has left portions of that road closed since the end of May.

Meanwhile, a section of 28^th St. between 2^nd Ave and 3^rd Ave has also forced detours for several weeks.

“It’s an inconvenience because many people use those two main streets to get from the east to the west and vice versa for work in the morning, so it becomes very congested,” said Orosz. “It’s frustrating to drive by those two locations and not see any workers or any work being done. It seems like those two sites are sitting idle with minimal to no progress.”

She also pointed to the frustration some businesses may have with the prolonged detours on Marquis and the nuisance residents off of 28^th Street have had to endure with all the re-directed traffic.

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“Overall, it’s obvious that there are many different aspects and factors of these two construction jobs that run concurrently that are impacting traffic,” she said.

City crews and contractors have been working to reline a watermain on 28th Street for several weeks. (Nick Nielsen/paNOW)

Director of Public Works for the City of Prince Albert, Jeff Da Silva said there are a number of projects underway in the city. Each year, about $4.4 million worth of work is budgeted through the paving program for road resurfacing and rebuilding. There is also about $3 million spent on water and sewer infrastructure projects.

He said there was a lot of consideration given to the timing and location of all the projects prior to them starting.

“The original plan for the section of roadway on 28^th was to maintain two-way traffic, with some exceptions. Unfortunately, once we actually got down to where the water mains were, sometimes our underground infrastructure doesn’t land exactly where we have it on plans. What happened was that it narrowed the roadway to a degree that we weren’t comfortable leaving two-way traffic through that stretch of roadway while also having two significantly-sized access pits on the road,” said Da Silva.

The project on 28^th includes 168 meters of watermain relining. The area has experienced a number of watermain breaks over the years, but the structural liner used will bring the main to a like new condition without having to excavate the roadway or sidewalk along the entirety of the pipe. Da Silva expects all of the underground work to be completed by the end of next week.

“And then there will be a short interruption when we bring in the paving crews just to resurface the roadway.”

As for Marquis Road, despite some recent rainfall, Da Silva said they’re still on track to have that project completed by the end of August – weather permitting. He added all of the capital projects are listed on the city’s website and updated frequently to include details of the work and completion dates.

While the city attempts to maintain access to businesses during construction in order to minimize any impacts, Da Silva said the city doesn’t have any policies towards compensation for disruptions, either due to emergent work or planned capital work.

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panews@pattisonmedia.com