Less than a week into the so-called rehabilitation of Bridger Street, the appointed contractor is allegedly treading water as problems surface.
In what residents describe as a ‘dam’ nuisance, a water pipe was ripped open by an excavator late on Monday night, creating a veritable lake between businesses on what remains of Bridger Street.
According to a municipal worker who arrived to ‘bail’ out the project, the contractor was supposed to inform the municipality of their intention to sink the excavator’s teeth into the foundations of a road, which has become synonymous with potholes and rutting.
Instead, businesses are floundering under waves of water gushing from a damaged water pipe.
“The contractor was supposed to call us before he started digging,” said the worker. “We were supposed to point out where the service lines are situated, to prevent something like this.”
Tides of anger poured forth from business owners letting off steam at the apparent lack of consideration shown to them, after it was promised the road would be refurbished section by section.
“Now look at it. They are doing what they promised, for which I am very grateful,” said one businessman. “They are working at night, which means there is no one on site during the day who we can talk to.”
At least four properties were left high and dry without running water. While some are dismayed by the murky prospects the project holds at this stage, others feel buoyed despite the situation.
“It’s not everyday you get a swimming pool right in front of your offices,” he joked. “I have already swum three laps before work.”
The promises made by the municipality to have the project under way by mid-February this year, have allegedly held no water, although residents are grateful the project has started in earnest, albeit almost three months later than originally hoped.
