Queensland Beach Provincial Park is expected to open between Saturday and Monday months after it was forced to close, according to the Nova Scotia government.
A storm hit the area in January, washing out the parking lot area of the park and the adjacent Conrads Road.
The pavement was heavily damaged, taking on the appearance of a grater.
Darcey MacBain, an area manager for Nova Scotia’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal (TIR), said most of the construction work at the park has been completed.
“Our contractor has worked very fast and efficiently to get this in shape for beachgoers,” he said, adding that work at the site started about nine days ago.
The contractor still has to install guard rails and complete the cleanup, MacBain said.
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Conrads Road is expected to stay closed to through traffic until July 6, when all work in the area should be done.
The road will switch spots with the parking lot area, meaning the road will now be next to Queensland Lake while the parking lot will be next to the beach.
“It’s a shame that it took this long for them to get it done,” said John Comeau, who works at a nearby food shop.
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Comeau said he hopes the park will be better maintained, noting the grass is overgrown, among other concerns. He also seen several car crashes and near-misses close to the entrance of the park, so he hopes that will be addressed, as well.
“It’s a beautiful beach,” Comeau said. “It’s a busy spot. It brings a lot of people to the area.”
MacBain said this project took months to complete because of the complexity of it.
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An architect from the Department of Natural Resources, a coastal erosion engineer from a private consultant, and TIR’s highway engineers developed the plan with the aim of preventing the same problems from arising again.
Part of the $541,000 project included making the rock berm larger to minimize further damage area in future years.
The ground won’t be paved for the time being; it will comprise of rolled gravel.
“We’re going to see how that fares against the storms,” MacBain said, adding that there will be dust control.
He also said that department appreciates the patience of the community’s residents.
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