‘Infusion of investment’ needed for DTI to catch up on crumbling infrastructure, says Mitton
Dorchester business owners are worried about the extended closure of route 106 announced by the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DTI) this week.
DTI blocked off Route 106 where it crosses over Two Mile Brook just over one month ago, on April 1st, due to a damaged culvert with a collapsing road around it, caused by runoff from heavy rain. Since then, drivers have been taking an alternate route via Woodlawn Road and King Street.
Debbie Shea owns and operates the Village Square takeout in the heart of Dorchester. “I think it’s crazy,” says Shea, about the three month extension for the estimate fix time, posted by DTI on 511.gnb.ca. “It should be fixed by now.”
Shea says she’s noticed a difference in her business, especially on weekends. She says people don’t want to drive the detour route because it takes longer, and “the road is so bad… Woodlawn is really bad and King Street is bad.”
“It’s a big concern for this little village, for people to come in and enjoy it,” says Shea.
Kara Becker is co-owner of the Peep and Keep Ecotique in Dorchester. She says she’s shocked that “something like a main road can be out for so long.”
“I just cannot believe that it’s going to take until September to fix it,” says Becker, whose shop opened last year, and relies on tourists passing through. “What’s the delay?… Continue