Achi news desk-
Like many communities in the Maritimes, Dorchester, NB, is gearing up for the upcoming tourist season, but business owners are worried about the closure of a road that connects the community to nearby Sackville.
On Tuesday, the Department of Transport and Infrastructure [DTI] extending the expected completion time for repairs on Route 106 on NB 511, the website that provides information on traffic and construction activities.
Work was initially expected to be carried out by May 31, but has been pushed back to September 3.
A culvert on part of the road was damaged by heavy rain at the end of March and the closure has been in place since April 1.
Some residents are confused, frustrated and worried about the upcoming tourist season.
Dorchester Jail bed and breakfast co-owner Natasha Marsh said the closure was having a terrible effect on business.
“We’ve seen our trips decline by at least 40-to-50 percent and with this closure all summer we expect it to kill our business by at least 80 percent,” Marsh said. “A lot of people don’t really know we’re here. They just happen to stumble across us on a beautiful thoroughfare and I don’t think many people are going to be out driving to take that road.”
Peep and Keep Ecotique owners Debbie Wiggins-Colwell and Kara Becker are also very concerned about summer traffic.
“Oh, this is going to be horrible. It’s really going to affect us. We can’t go through the tourist season and not get the mains [Route] 106 open. Period,” Wiggins-Colwell said.
Becker said they are already seeing a slowdown in business.
“It really hurts us,” Becker said. “This is our second season open and we’re wondering if we can keep it going.”
Keillor House Museum manager and curator, Keegan Hiltz, said that this is down to people finding their way to the museum.
“We have a lot of visitors that come from out of state, other states and countries so if you’re not familiar with the alternative routes, it can be confusing,” Hiltz said. “It’s a bit of a concern that people might decide to avoid us or they might get confused on their way here.”
Keillor House Museum Manager and Curator Keegan Hiltz. (Source: Derek Haggett/CTV News Atlantic)Dorchester is not completely cut off; it can be accessed via Memramcook or via a signed detour along Woodlawn and King roads.
Dorchester residents say that is less than ideal.
“That’s not a solution, that’s not a solution to go through there,” Wiggins-Colwell said. “He avoids a lot.”
Her business partner doesn’t think it’s safe.
“The shoulder is not good,” Becker said. “It’s really meant for a cow trail. It’s not a real detour.”
Village Square Take-Out owner Debbie Shea said business has been a little low for her as well since it closed, especially on weekends.
He said the diversion was full of potholes.
“It’s just terrible. It’s a terrible way. It really needs work,” said Shea. “If we’re going to continue to use that then it needs to be fixed.”
Welcome sign in Dorchester, NB (Source: Derek Haggett/CTV News Atlantic)The Mayor of Tantramar Andrew Black has written a letter to Richard Ames, minister of the DTI, stating that the municipality is very concerned that the completion date has been postponed until September.
“This closure has a significant impact not only on the residents of Tantramar but has also impacted protective services, student transportation safety, tourism, businesses, a federal institution, as well as Fort Folly First Nations,” Black said in the letter. . “The increase in traffic flow along the diversion route has and will continue to degrade our infrastructure.”
Black said the municipality is urging the province to speed up the measures needed to reopen the section of highway on Route 106 and they are asking for active and transparent communication with the DTI.
CTV News asked the DTI about the delay in the completion schedule, but did not hear back by deadline.
Earlier this week a spokesperson for the DTI said that plans are still being discussed for a new culvert, but at the moment there is no timetable for starting the work.
