The Town of Bay Roberts has taken another significant step in the establishment of a business park.
The town recently called tenders for the installation of a water line along L. T. Stick Drive (formerly CB Access Road), starting at Delaney's Lane and ending at Pickett's Road.
The water project is one of the conditions the town must fulfill in order to finalize a formal land sale agreement with Canadian grocery giant Loblaws Properties Limited, which operates the Dominion store on the Conception Bay Highway.
Contractors have until Sept. 21 to submit tenders.
The project involves upgrading a small section of the line in the area of Delaney's Lane, and new infrastructure to Pickett's Road. The town has $625,000 budgetted for the water service upgrades.
"It will include water for the new business park," chief administrative officer Nigel Black told The Compass last week.
He added that sewer infrastructure will be installed in a future phase.
The proposed business park is roughly 60 acres, and is located just off L. T. Stick Drive, near Veterans Memorial Highway.
It was disclosed earlier in May that Loblaws was interested in purchasing and developing the site, which is situated behind the town's visitor centre.
Under the provisions of the deal, there are certain conditions each party must meet before a deal can be finalized. Getting water to the site is one of the town's responsibilities.
"It's taking the necessary steps to ensure a deal gets done," said Black.
The CAO said other details of the land sale agreement cannot yet be disclosed because of the sensitivity of the process.
Black was unable to say when site work might begin.
He added that the town also plans to extend the water infrastructure along Pickett's Road in a future phase. Pickett's Road is off Country Road, and is a key entrance to Butlerville and Shearstown.
The tender call coincides with a major milestone at another proposed business park in the region. Just recently, the Town of Spaniard's Bay announced it had signed an agreement with the company developing Veterans Business Park in Tilton. The town also approved the spending of some $3.8 million to install water and sewer services to the park boundary.
Paving to be completed soon
Meanwhile, motorists in Bay Roberts who have long complained about the state of the Conception Bay Highway may soon see some improvements.
Black said paving of the four-land stretch of highway between Water Street and L.T. Stick Drive could not be started until a massive water and sewer project in the region was completed.
"They're completing the lift stations and some other work, but when that's finished the work will begin," he said.
Black said he was assured the work would be completed by the end of this construction season.
The busy road is maintained by the provincial government, but Black noted the town is responsible for resurfacing costs.
