The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
The province has committed $4.8 million to resume the reconstruction of the main artery through Flin Flon, Highway 10A, all the way to the end of Main Street. The work is slated to begin next year, following the route of Third Avenue, First Avenue, and Main Street to the Saskatchewan border Ñ all provincial roadway. "It's another step toward our community being open for business and looking like a prosperous community," said Mayor Dennis Ballard. "God knows this is something we deserve. We're due. It's our turn." The work will pick up where the province's 2000 highway reconstruction, which started at the entrance to Flin Flon and ended just shy of Third Avenue, left off. The province anticipates spending $1.8 million this year on planning the project, with the actual road milling and sidewalk replacement to take place in 2005 and 2006. While the province spends this summer planning the project, the City will undertake the necessary preliminary work along the route, such as underground repairs and moving power poles. The project is a timely one for Main Street business owners, who want to enhance the appearance of the street, and Flin Flon City Council, which wants to help Main Street compete with the Flintoba Shopping Centre. "It will give a fresh surface to Main Street and it will be a step in the direction that needs to be taken on Main Street," said Councillor Cal Huntley. "We're looking all the time at what can we do for uptown," said Mayor Ballard. Doug O'Brien, president of the Flin Flon and District Chamber of Commerce, called the project a "positive move" for Main Street but feels more will need to be done. Added Mary Lee Akert, owner of Mugsy's Deli on Main Street: "It's a great thing that's going to happen. It's going to help Main Street." The funding announcement comes after strong lobbying efforts by Flin Flon City Council to have the highway route revamped. Each year since the initial highway work was completed, Mayor Ballard said, council has made it clear to the province that the continuation of that project was a priority. "We've never wavered on that. This has been the project we wanted," he said. Although provincial funding isn't easy to secure, the mayor said he had been optimistic about the project and wasn't surprised when the official announcement came.
