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Portion of Federal Road receives makeover

During a season dominated by weathered and ravaged roads, the City of Iqaluit announced Federal Road is receiving a makeover from the RCMP building to the airport.

photo courtesy of City of Iqaluit
Federal Road will see a marked improvement between the RCMP building and the new airport terminal by summer's end with a $2.6 million repaving project.

"Paving this area of Federal Road will improve drivability, reduce annual maintenance costs, as well as help enhance a positive image of the city, especially for visitors arriving from our international airport," stated Mayor Madeleine Redfern in a news release.

Following a tender, the city awarded the contract to sole bidder Kudlik Construction at a cost of $2,544,866.

The targeted area is from Qaqqamiut Road to Ikaluktuutiak Drive – this is the section between the far side of the airport to just past the RCMP building, two block short of the Four Corners.

The work is scheduled to begin May 21, with the removal of old pavement. Paving is scheduled to begin the second week of July, continuing through the summer.

To accommodate traffic, the city stated flow will be modified "which may entail one-lane traffic-flow through this area."

Prior to the city's news release, Nunavut News had requested interviews with Redfern and the director of public works to discuss the state of Iqaluit roads, and water and sewer infrastructure, as well as plans and funding opportunities moving forward.

"It may be best to defer this interview until a little later this summer. A lot of activity is happening right now, and perhaps there may be a few more details in the next few weeks," stated communications manager Andrea Spitzer via e-mail.

Spitzer later declined the interview requests, saying "Public Works is getting ready for the Federal Road upgrade project."

Funding for the Federal Road makeover comes from the Government of Canada's Gas Tax Fund.

"The Government of Nunavut has worked closely with the city, and provided the design work for the project," stated the city.