Plans are underway to repair and expand Breynat Street running alongside East Three School, adding a lighted crosswalk and expanding the sidewalk all the way up the hill and the only thing the town is waiting on is getting the funding from Ottawa.
Town of Inuvik senior administrative officer Grant Hood explained details for the plan at Town Council’s Jan. 25 Committee of the Whole meeting.
“It actually isn’t just Breynat (Street),” he said. “It actually starts at the entrance to the school on Kingmingya and goes right up to Inuit Road and up to Semmler Road for part of the project, and some fixing up on the corner and access to the Gwich’in and Breynat intersection.”
Culverts will be replaced along the roadway to improve drainage and new signage will be installed and the slope of the hill will be smoothed out to make driving down the hill more comfortable.
Photo courtesy Town of Inuvik
As the project will be funded through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure program, construction on the widened road is expected to begin after Ottawa gives the funding the green light.
Mayor Natasha Kulikowski told council the town had reached a contribution agreement with the GNWT on Jan. 27 that would cover some of the costs if needed. The total cost of the project is $2.5 million and would be completed over three years, with road widening happening in the first year, the sidewalks in the second and repaving the road in the final year.
A lighted crosswalk for students at East Three School will be built crossing Kingmingya Road near Berger St. Still in the planning phases is whether a second crosswalk with lights will be installed further east, closer to Northmart. Hood said the town was still crunching the numbers on whether connecting power to the second crosswalk would be feasible. He added the cost estimates of installing the lighted crosswalks were approaching $50,000.
In addition to the safety provided by better lighting, a turning lane will allow parents to access Breynat from the East Three parking lot and turn left or right, as opposed to just turning right as it sits today. The sidewalk along East Three School will be extended all the way up the hill to Semmler road.
“This is a really ambitious plan to upgrade this in a very significant way,” said Coun. Steven Baryluk. “That school is not going anywhere for a long, long, long time. I think it would be a significant improvement to that whole area for the traffic flow and the safety of the residents.
“It’s great to see it starting to get some movement, hopefully.”
