Water and sewer project to affect traffic on Front Road and King Street West

Utilities Kingston is embarking on a large, phased, multi-year project to improve water and sewer infrastructure in the community. In the second phase, starting this month, areas along Front Road and King Street West from Sand Bay Lane (Front Road bridge) to Country Club Drive will be affected.

“This project, to redirect sewage from the Portsmouth Pumping Station and interconnect a trunk water main, is expected to save energy, reduce sewer overflows, create capacity to support downtown development, and improve operations and system performance,” said Jim Miller, Chief Operating Officer for Utilities Kingston.  

The project also includes transportation infrastructure improvements along the project corridor, jointly coordinated with the City of Kingston, as part of the continued rollout of the City’s five-year Active Transportation Implementation Plan, according to a release from Utilities Kingston.

The completed project will include: 

1. New multi-use pathways along the north and south side of King Street West from Trailhead Place to Portsmouth Avenue, connecting with on-road cycling lanes on Portsmouth Avenue. 
2. A reconstructed intersection at King Street West and Portsmouth Avenue.  

Community Benefits:

Utilities Kingston’s asset management practices help create local economic development opportunities, ensure sustainability, and further climate action, according to the release. Benefits of this project, as laid out by Utilities Kingston: 

• More efficient operation of the municipal wastewater treatment system, by reducing the distance sewage travels by more than eight kilometres. 
• Energy savings from reducing the number of times sewage is pumped from three to one. Utilities Kingston shares the City’s goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and remains its committed partner in being a climate action leader.  
• Reduced combined sewer overflows in downtown Kingston, helping to protect local natural bodies of water. 
• Additional capacity to help facilitate intensification and development in City Central. Utilities Kingston is committed to meeting the needs of investors, while ensuring continued reliability for existing customers. 
• Improved operations and system performance.  
• Reduced disruption in the community by coordinating three projects to ‘dig the trench once’. Coordinating work allows Utilities Kingston to upgrade infrastructure more efficiently, with fewer disruptions to residents and businesses. 

About the project:

Currently, sewage is pumped several times from Portsmouth Village east to the Ravensview Wastewater Treatment Plant, approximately 12 kilometres away. Utilities Kingston said this work, and future phases of the project, will instead redirect sewage flows to the west, to the much closer Cataraqui Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Meanwhile, the Front Road water main interconnection project will connect the Point Pleasant Water Treatment Plant to the central water distribution system and will improve operational flexibility and system performance, according to the release. 

This is a phased, multi-year project that includes construction activities at Front Road, King Street West, Union Street and Kennedy Street, from Sand Bay Lane to Sir John A. Macdonald Boulevard:  

• Phase 1 (a water service and sewer forcemain to the Cataraqui Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant) was completed in 2018.
• This project Phase 2A, awarded to EBC Inc., will affect areas along Front Road and King Street West from Sand Bay Lane (Front Road bridge) to Country Club Drive. It will begin in July 2021 and is expected to be complete by the end of 2022.
• Phase 2B will begin later in 2021 on King Street West at Country Club Drive, and continue along King, Union and Kennedy to Sir John A. Macdonald Boulevard, with construction continuing into 2023.
• The final phase of the project will include the reconstruction of the Portsmouth Sewage Pumping Station in Aberdeen Park, Portsmouth Village, in 2023.

A map of the project phases is available at www.utilitieskingston.com. Utilities Kingston recommends commuters plan for significant delays along Front Road. Follow @utilitieskngstn on Twitter for traffic and other project updates.