Navigating the Elizabeth Avenue area of St. John’s will be a bit of a nightmare over the next year or so as a number of major construction projects come together at the same time.

The city is lining water mains in the Churchill Park subdivision at the same time as repaving Elizabeth Avenue from Westerland Road east to Allandale Road in phase one of the shared-use path project.

Infrastructure lead on St. John’s city council, Sandy Hickman, says the work, which will begin “almost immediately,” will continue through to November.

He says rather than so-called “scratch and patch,” the entire surface will be torn up and repaved. Curbs and gutters will also be upgraded, with improvements to intersections and crosswalks and the construction of a new shared-use path for pedestrians, cyclists and others.

Hickman admits, driving through the area will be tough….not just this year, but into the years ahead as a number of major construction projects get underway.

He says the roadwork will affect a portion of Elizabeth Avenue this year, with the portion from Westerland Road to Freshwater Road to take place next year. That’s in addition to the ongoing construction on the new Track and Field facility, and construction work on the Aquarena. Hickman says three new apartment buildings adjacent to the Aquarena are also about to start construction “any day.”

Signs have been erected in the area warning drivers of the upcoming disruptions.