By Chase
Has winter finally decided to leave for good? As I write this we just had what I hope is our last blast of winter here in Niagara over the final weekend of March. I will know spring has truly arrived as soon as I see the road construction crews taking to the streets and highways across Ontario. With the return of road crews also comes the long delays of warm weather travel takes over peoples daily commute to work.
With the record snowfall and cold temperatures this past winter many construction sites across the province are now left scrambling to get make up the time lost due to the weather. This is quite the contrast to past years when crews were able to get ahead of schedule.
The area I am starting to see the largest impact is around the Toronto Pan Am games where projects like the new football stadium in Hamilton may be as many as six weeks behind. The impact on a project like this could have a negative impact on the Hamilton Tiger Cats of the Canadian Football League after having to play a season away in Guelph. The construction consortium of Ontario Sports Solutions and Infrastructure Ontario has made a commitment to turn the project over to the city with a very aggressive plan to get back on track. My fingers are crossed as I am looking forward to visiting the new stadium this late summer with events through the local football association my two sons play for and again with an event in the early planning stages for the Niagara Construction Association.
What projects in your city have been impacted by the winter weather? What projects were you able to keep on track or even get ahead of schedule on? Share you projects and stories and we could profile them in an upcoming issue in our community news section.
Chase is director of marketing and client relations for the Construction Newsa nd Report Group of Companies. He is also associate publisher for the GTA Construction Report, Ontario Construction Report and Canadian Design and Construction Report. He can be reached by phone at (905) 228-1151 or email at chase@cnrgp.com. See www.ontarioconstructionreport.com.
