By Tyler Waugh, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
A stretch of Commonwealth Avenue closed since November 2025 due to work on a private underground asset, has seen its re-opening delayed again, much to the chagrin of city council.
A 140-metre section of the southbound curb side lane between the Whiteley Drive intersections was scheduled for an already delayed re-opening in late May. However, ongoing engineering challenges amid road structure concerns has pushed the anticipated opening date to July 2026, despite the city’s ongoing requests for an accelerated timeline for reopening.
“The city recognizes and shares the frustration of residents and commuters and is committed to resolving the issue and restoring full access to Commonwealth Avenue as soon as possible,” councillor Mark Rice reported during a roundtable discussion at the May 26 regular council meeting. “The issue originated in December 2025 when Bell conducted work on an underground concrete chamber at this location. During a routine city inspection concerns were identified about the structural integrity of the chamber roof.”
Rice reported that Bell then retained a third-party structural engineering firm to carry out further inspections and testing and it was determined in February 2026 that the chamber roof did not meet the required load capacity under the Canadian Highway Bridge Design Code.
Bell was required to revise its approach and submit updated engineering drawings to the city.
“There has been a lot of back and forth between Bell and the city on this one,” Rice said, adding that factors like additional engineering work and weather conditions contributed to the delays.
“The city’s priority right now remains ensuring that the work is to be completed safely and in compliance with all regulatory requirements.”
Bell has ultimately decided to shift its approach from an underground solution to an above-ground cable transfer.
Engineering director Scott Batt told council that Bell stated in the past week that it is looking to implement a temporary steel plate solution at the site to hopefully open the roadway sooner than the final project completion date.
Mayor Dave Aker said the fact that the company has closed a lane down for what has amounted to eight months, and is now considering a different approach, is totally unacceptable.
“It makes you wonder if they’d picked the right way in the first place would they have had this done back in January,” Aker said.
Rice said the city is not seeking any recourse or action against Bell at this time.
The City has maintained an ongoing notice about this work on mountpearl.ca. Updates have also been provided through Facebook, beginning with the initial notice in November, followed by updates in December and January.