Getting tired of seeing dump trucks, excavators and torn-up pavement on your main drag?

Get used to it.

The re-development of Main Street in west-end Stouffville isn’t slated for completion until 2011.

The project is in the first of three phases and everything is going according to plan, said Dave Cash, the town’s chief administrative officer.

The project will cost $9.5 million, with 85 per cent paid by development charges.

The first, and longest, phase includes Main from Winona Drive, from just west of Nine Line to just east of Hwy. 48. The road is being widened to four lanes and will boast new sidewalks, boulevards, medians and synchronized traffic signals when completed.  

Asphalt should be laid by December with the final asphalt, trees and sod in next spring.

“A key benefit will be up-to-date storm water drainage systems to better manage the water quantity and quality,” Mr. Cash said.

Phase two will involve the reconstruction and widening of the Main Street and Hwy. 48 intersection at Ringwood. The region will also be widening Stouffville Road right to Hwy. 404 at the same time.

The final phase will involve lining up the north and south sections of Ninth Line and removing the jog at Main Street.

Despite the obvious inconveniences of the major project, the end result will be worth it, Mr. Cash said.

“We’re looking forward to a really nice product when we’re finished,” he said.

Business owners have not expressed concerns about the construction to the chamber and commends the town for its efforts in keeping disturbances to a minimum, Helene Johnson, president of the Whitchurch-Stouffville Chamber of Commerce, said.

“I noticed they’re spraying (Main Street) with water to keep the dust down and a two-way traffic flow is being kept along Main Street,” she added. “I think the town is trying very hard to keep everything in check.”

Shoeless Joe’s co-owner D Dimoski isn’t as upbeat.

“I’m extremely unhappy with the construction,” he said.

The restaurant’s gas line was cut off for a couple hours during dinner time last week he said, and the restaurant was unable to prepare food.

“The construction is a disruption in itself,” he said, adding “it doesn’t get much worse” than having gas cut off.

Wayne Sorichetti, owner of nearby East Side Mario’s, said his business has also been hurt.

“It’s affected my patio business with the noise and the dust,” he said. “There are still people coming in, they just don’t want to eat on the patio.”

Residents looking to bypass the construction can use Millard Street and Hoover Park Drive, which run parallel to Main Street, Mr. Cash said.

Residents can now use Baker Hill Drive, located across from Ringwood Drive just east of Hwy. 48, to get to Millard. Mr. Cash expects Millard, which now ends at Baker Hill, to open to Hwy. 48 in “the next couple of weeks”.

“We appreciate the understanding of the residents and the businesses and we’re obviously get this done as quickly as possible.”

Updates on the Main Street project can be found at townofws.com