A $1.45 million Road rehabilitation project for Bloomfield’s Main Street is underway.

The municipality hosted a final Public Information Centre at Bloomfield Town Hall on March 23 to provide a construction schedule, detail the scope of work, and share the details important to village residents and businesses.

Bloomfield Main Street is beginning to deteriorate with significant cracking, especially down the centre line of the road. The one kilometre stretch between Corey and Wellington streets is considered a “connecting link” between two provincial highways, 33 and 62. Last year, the municipality successfully applied for a Ministry of Transportation grant through its Connecting Links program, winning 90 percent of the cost to rehabilitate the roadway.

The resurfacing will extend the road’s life, providing a smooth, safe surface for all traffic.

Drew Harrison Haulage will be a constant presence in the village over the next three months. The local firm is removing the existing asphalt surface and placing 100mm of new hot mix asphalt, replacing approximately 10 storm sewer sections, replacing deteriorated curb sections and performing minor sidewalk panel replacements

Work got underway on March 30, with equipment mobilization and signage, traffic control, locates and pre-construction building surveys. This week sees storm sewer replacement and curb removal. Work on a new curb starts at Corey Street and continues west.

Demobilization is slated for the second week of June. As Canada Day approaches, the only evidence that roadwork was completed in Bloomfield this spring should be be a fresh layer of smooth asphalt on the main drag.

Predetermined

The 40 plus Bloomfield businesses hope the proposed schedule goes off like clockwork. No weather delays. No equipment breakdowns. No materials shortages.

But they are skeptical, and feel ignored by Shire Hall. At a preliminary PIC earlier this spring, a number of timeline options were offered. Business owners requested a split schedule: road construction in April and May, a hiatus over the summer, and a resumption after Labour Day.

But the option disappeared. Council was presented with a fixed April to June timeline instead. When staff were pressed about the preferred, and proffered, split schedule, it was described as a major deviation from the original contract, requiring re-tendering of the project and delaying its start.

Anice Jewellery owner Brittany Hopkins says Bloomfielders are disappointed. The April to June timeline appears to have been the only timeline, despite months of meetings, consultations, and requests for public input.

“What was presented as engagement now feels more like a procedural exercise than a genuine effort to incorporate the concerns of local businesses,” she said. “As this project moves forward, we believe it is critical that it remain under close public scrutiny—both in terms of execution and cost.

“The chosen timeline was justified as a way to minimize taxpayer burden, but that claim must now be measured against reality.”

While a clear construction timeline is a good thing, concerns about logistics persist. Much of what happens over the 120 days depends on contractor performance and weather — factors that are inherently unpredictable.

“Given those variables, it is difficult to have confidence that the project can be fully wrapped up by mid-June,” she added. “We remain committed to monitoring this process and ensuring that the interests of local businesses and the community are represented as the project progresses.”