Aylmer residents hoping neighbouring construction project wraps up soon

One Aylmer resident is wondering why it’s taking so long to complete a residential project just south of the Fraser Road and Lucerne Boulevard intersection.

“I don’t know how somebody can drag this on for years and not be close to being finished. I can’t believe what I’m looking at everyday,” said Hans Bolowich, an Aylmer resident who lives on Fraser Road, just south of the project Terrasses des Vignobles Condos.

“Nobody seems to care. We must live with this everyday. Everyone (in the condo building at 100 Fraser Road) is frustrated,” he told the Bulletin. “We are not upset that there’s a construction project; we are upset with the time it’s taking to finish. I don’t know if the builder or public utilities is to blame.”

One component of the development that remains incomplete is the landscaping around the buildings along Fraser Road and the parking spaces. One reason that is not permitting the builder to complete the landscaping elements is that Hydro-Québec still has its network on the west side near the housing buildings.

“Our ongoing work there is to transfer the electricity network from one side of Fraser Road to the other (east side). This is an important undertaking and we know that it comes with its inconveniences. Therefore, we are trying to finish the job as quickly as possible,” said Jean-François Gagné, regional spokesperson for Hydro Québec. “The first step is to install posts on the other side of the street and then switch the wires. Those from the cable companies are also on the current poles and will need to be removed.”

Mr Gagné noted that the work was requested from the builder of Terrasses des Vignobles. “Like with any modification of the network, it’s the client who pays. We should be done by the end of the summer, but it depends on how fast the cable companies remove their wires for us to remove the poles to clear up the street,” added Mr Gagné.

Unwilling to say when Hydro-Québec received the request to switch the network from one side of the street to the other, Mr Gagné added that in certain cases delays can be caused when Hydro-Québec awaits a call back from customers. “We are not behind in this project,” noted Gagné.

Contacted by the Bulletin, Deschênes councillor Richard Bégin, said that it was up to the builder to determine if a project advances or not.

“This is not the only case where a project is stalling. There’s the project in the La Croisée neighbourhood which started 25 years ago and it is moving very slowly, as can be seen,” said Bégin.

The councillor added that he could only guess as to why the project is idling. “One thing that’s certain is that the delays don’t depend on the city,” he added. The builder did not return our calls.