Buckle up — construction season in Fredericton has begun

Construction season has begun in Fredericton and it's already causing some headaches.

Commuters are experiencing longer drives during peak hours as they navigate a series of detours downtown due to the closure of Regent Street between Brunswick Street and King Street.

The closure has removed a popular commuter route for accessing the Westmorland Street Bridge. That's led to some bottlenecks as traffic relocates to other streets.

"This is the first couple days of this project," said Greg McCann, project engineer with Fredericton's capital construction projects department.

"Usually, it takes the first three or four days, or the first week, for people to adjust to it. They'll find different routes, they'll add five to 10 minutes to their commute."

That section of Regent Street will be closed until mid-September, according to McCann. He suggests allocating extra time for the daily commute or finding alternate ways to get to and from downtown like biking or using the city's walking trails.

While he understands frustrations, McCann said the work to replace sewer and storm pipes is vital to Fredericton's growth.

WATCH | Catch a drone's view of traffic snarls as commuters adapt to construction in downtown Fredericton:

"The street was in some dire need of some love," said McCann.

"When we looked at it a little further, the pipes under Regent Street are over 100 years old. It's fabulous that we got that kind of longevity out of the pipes. But it's time for a little upgrade there ... with the city developing as it is we need to upgrade those pipes for capacity."

More construction to come

There are other big projects yet to start in the city.

McCann said a new roundabout is being built at the intersection of Wilsey Road and Lincoln Road that will take 10 to 12 weeks.

A section of Riverside Drive near Barkers Point will also be closed for about three months.

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There's no start date yet for those construction projects.

McCann said the city will be providing regular updates to several resources and maps to give residents an idea of what delays to expect.

The city will also provide updates on construction project progress in a weekly newsletter that residents can sign up to receive via email.