Water Street Infrastructure Project

Phase Five of the Water Street Infrastructure Improvement Project is now complete.

As of 6 p.m., Tuesday July 11, two-way traffic will resume on Prescott Street.

The City would like to thank the public and the business community for their patience during construction.

Underground infrastructure installation will be completed at the Waldegrave and Water Street intersection in the coming days, and underground work at Prescott Street and Job’s Cove is starting on Monday, May 8 2023.

A road closure at the Prescott Street and Duckworth Street intersection is required to facilitate this phase of work. Signage and flag persons will be in place.

Waldegrave Street intersection

Waldegrave Street will reopen to traffic on Monday, May 8 2023, with some surface work ongoing, and minor delays expected. The intersection surface will be gravel until the asphalt plants are opened towards the end of May.

Temporary Metrobus stops and routes remain in place and will be updated on the Metrobus website when they return to normal.

The City apologizes for the inconvenience caused by this construction project, which is scheduled to be completed by June 30, 2023.

The final phase of the Water Street Infrastructure Improvement project that began on March 27, is progressing on schedule, with the underground infrastructure installation nearing completion at the Waldegrave Street intersection, and underground work scheduled to begin at the intersection of Prescott Street and Job’s Cove, next week.

Waldegrave Street intersection

As weather permits, crews will be working to reinstate the road surface at the Waldegrave Street intersection during the coming weeks. Traffic lanes will be opened as the work progresses and the intersection controlled by flags persons. The intersection surface will be gravel until the asphalt plants are opened towards the end of May. A further announcement on the complete reopening of Waldegrave Street will be made as soon as it is safe to do so.

The temporary Metrobus stops and routes will remain as they currently are until the Waldegrave intersection it is fully reopened. Details for these temporary routes and stops are still available on the Metrobus website.

Prescott Street/Job’s Cove Intersection

On Monday May 1, 2023 work will begin in the intersection along Prescott Street/Job’s Cove just south of Water Street. Traffic will be maintained while this work is ongoing, and no detours will be required at this time. Lane reductions will be controlled by flag persons. An announcement will be made when detours are required for the Prescott Street intersection.

The city apologizes for the inconvenience caused by this construction project, which is scheduled to be completed by June 30, 2023.

The final phase of the five-year Water Street Infrastructure Improvement project begins March 27, 2023.

This project will proceed in phases. For the first stage, there will be significant traffic delays and detours in the following areas:

• Waldegrave Street heading south from the New Gower Street/Barter’s Hill intersection (near the Delta Hotel) to Water Street will be closed to through traffic. Local access only will be provided along Waldegrave Street. Motorists will have to find another route to access Water Street or Harbour Drive during this time.
• All traffic heading east along Water Street at the Waldegrave Street intersection will be required to use Harbour Drive as no access through the intersection will be permitted.
• Access to Waldegrave Street heading north from Harbour Drive will also be closed. However, access to Water Street West and Water Street East from Harbour Drive will be maintained.

Metrobus stops and routes will be affected during this work. Details for the temporary routes and stops will be available on the Metrobus website.

An announcement will be made as soon as these detours can be removed.

The City is planning for the next phase of the Water Street infrastructure project, set to start in spring 2023. The work includes excavation and underground work at the Water Street intersections at Prescott Street/Job's Cove, and Waldegrave Street.

Property owners, business owners, employees, and people who live in the area are encouraged to attend a virtual information session to learn about the next phase of work prior to the construction season.

Two virtual information sessions are being offered in January:

Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 3 p.m.

Thursday, Jan. 12 at 10 a.m.

Registration link

City staff, representatives from the engineering consultant CBCL, and the City’s designated business liaison for the project will be available to answer questions.

This is the final phase of the underground construction required for this project.

The remaining work for the Water Street Infrastructure Improvement Project, which includes construction at the intersections of Job’s Cove and Waldegrave Street as well as the cured-in-place-pipe (CIPP) lining of the brick sewer, is on hold for 2022 until cost-shared funding is approved.

To help reduce the impact to the business community during the peak summer months, the City is committed to completing the project in phases, from April to June each year. Because funding has not been confirmed for all the remaining work, it has been decided to delay until there is funding approval and enough time to plan for an April start, when construction would normally begin.

Once funding is confirmed, the City will announce the details for the next phase of construction. It is anticipated that the Job’s Cove and Waldegrave Street intersections will be completed under the same contract, during a future year, with the CIPP lining work to follow.

As part of this project, four phases of upgrades have been completed between Queen Street and Job’s Cove. Details and background information is available on this page.

The fourth phase of the Water Street Infrastructure Improvement Project from Clift’s-Baird’s Cove to Job’s Cove/Prescott Street is complete a few days ahead of schedule.

As of 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 24, two-way traffic will resume on this section of Water Street.

The City would like to thank the public and the business community for their patience during construction.

The final phase of the project is scheduled to start in spring 2022.

The next phase of the Water Street construction project is set to start in early April 2021, between Clift’s Baird’s Cove and Job's Cove. Property owners, business owners, employees, and people who live in the area are encouraged to sign up to attend a virtual information session to learn details about the next phase of work.

Tuesday, March 23, 2021

10 to 11 a.m.

To register click here.

City staff, representatives from the engineering consultant, the City’s designated business liaison for the Water Street project and Downtown St. John’s staff will be there to answer questions and review the 2021 project plan.

For an outline of the scope of work for 2021, check out the document library.

The City is planning for the next phase of the Water Street infrastructure project, set to start in spring 2021. The work will be undertaken between Clift’s Baird’s Cove and Job’s Cove.

Property owners, business owners, employees, and people who live in the area are encouraged to attend a virtual information session and learn about the next phase of work.

Register to attend a virtual information session on Thursday, Nov. 26 from 10 to 11 a.m.

City staff, representatives from the engineering consultant CBCL, and the City’s designated business liaison for the Water Street Project will be available during the session. Unable to attend? Speak with a project representative by calling 576-3286 or email mwhite@stjohns.ca.

Phase III of the Water Street Construction project between Ayre’s Cove and Clift’s Baird’s Cove is complete. Two-way traffic resumes on Water Street by 10 a.m. today, Monday, June 29.

Residents and business owners looking to provide feedback on this phase of the construction can e-mail engage@stjohns.ca. Feedback should consider both what worked well during this phase and what was challenging. As in previous years, the city will consider all feedback as it plans for Phase IV.