Spruce Avenue Is Waiting on a Pipe Only One Canadian Manufacturer Makes

In April, Burlington City Council approved closing Spruce Avenue at the Shoreacres Creek culvert for 10 weeks, from the end of June to early September 2026. The barricades went up on June 29. It is now October, and the crossing between Shoreacres Road and Goodram Drive is still shut. On September 29, Council extended the closure until the trenchless watermain work is finished, which the City expects to happen in December.

The delay is not a crew falling behind. It comes from a set of engineering choices made to protect the creek and the trees and utilities along this stretch of Spruce. Those choices led to a specialized pipe, and in Canada that pipe comes from a single manufacturer.

Why the Road Is Open in Two Places and Closed in the Middle

The project is called the Spruce Avenue Area Minor Reconstruction. It is a joint job between the City of Burlington and Halton Region, awarded to King Paving & Construction under a $12.189 million contract. The City's share covers asphalt, curbs, sidewalks, storm sewers and streetlights on Spruce Avenue, Goodram Drive, Shoreacres Place and Mackay Court. Halton Region is replacing the watermain on Spruce between Walkers Line and Goodram Drive.

Most of that work can happen while traffic keeps moving. The creek crossing is different. Staff report PWS-33-26 explains that the design team evaluated several construction methods for getting the new watermain across Shoreacres Creek, including open-cut and trenchless techniques. After weighing the risks, the environmental impacts and constructability, they chose the tunnel.

A tunnel needs a shaft dug on each side of the creek, and the shafts had to go somewhere. The report says the location of existing underground utilities and mature trees in the boulevard left the travel lanes as the only workable spot. That decision is what closed Spruce Avenue between Shoreacres Road and Goodram Drive.

So the closed block exists because the boulevard trees and buried lines were kept where they are. The 10-week estimate assumed the pipe for the tunnel would arrive on time.

The Pipe

The watermain used for the tunnel is concrete pressure pipe. The staff report notes that it is different from the pipe used on the rest of the project. The contractor ordered it right after the contract was awarded in April. Here is how the dates moved after that:

Normally a contractor facing a late delivery could order from someone else. The report explains why that option did not exist here:

"There is only one Canadian manufacturer for the specified concrete pressure pipe, as such an alternate supplier is not an option."

Inside Halton's coverage of the extension quotes the same passage. According to the report, the road can reopen only once the tunnel work is done and Spruce is back in a condition that is safe for road users. The latest City material does not say whether the October delivery has arrived. The December date depends on that pipe arriving and the tunnel going in after it. The City describes December as an anticipated date, not a guaranteed one.

Who Pays for the Extra Months

The report states that the longer closure has no financial impact on the City of Burlington. Any added cost is Halton Region's responsibility. That makes sense, since the watermain is the Region's part of the job and the delay sits entirely in the watermain.

The report also says the City is working with the contractor and Halton Region to speed up the tunnel work and reopen Spruce "as soon as practical." The existing detour stays in place for as long as the road is closed. The detour map, which the City lists as February 2026, shows New Street, Appleby Line, Walkers Line, Goodram Drive, Shoreacres Road and Lakeshore Road around the closure. The map is linked from the City's project page, and it is the best reference for the exact route.

The Rest of Spruce Waits Too

The creek crossing is the most visible holdup, but the City's project page shows it is not the only one. It says the Spruce Avenue watermain work as a whole has been delayed by supply chain issues and utility conflicts. That pushes the Spruce road work, meaning the new asphalt, curbs and streetlights, into 2027.

The schedule from here on runs in stages:

1. Water services on Spruce are expected to be finished by the end of 2026.
2. Any disturbed areas will be patched temporarily for the winter.
3. Spruce road work is expected to be finished in spring or summer 2027.
4. The full project is expected to wrap up in summer 2027.

Once the crossing reopens in December, Spruce will be drivable but not finished. It will spend the winter on temporary repairs, with a second round of construction to come.

The side streets are further ahead. On Goodram Drive, Shoreacres Place and Mackay Court, the storm sewer, curb and sidewalk work is complete. Streetlights and landscaping were expected by mid-September, and paving was scheduled for the end of September to early October. No source available so far confirms that the paving is done, so treat it as scheduled rather than finished.

What the City Has Told Residents on the Project Streets

The August 2026 project update includes practical details for households within the project limits. Those details matter more now that the work will run through two construction seasons instead of one.

• Work hours. Construction runs Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. During those hours, getting a car in and out of your driveway may be difficult. Driveways are closed temporarily when crews work right nearby, with advance notice from the City inspector or the contractor.
• Parking. When a driveway can't be used, the City relaxes the five-hour on-street limit and the 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. overnight restriction for registered vehicles. You register at burlington.ca/parking or by calling 905-335-7816, weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Days used during City construction don't count toward the usual 15-day annual limit.
• Condition surveys. The contractor hired dBA Services Inc. to photograph and record the inside and outside condition of homes within the project limits. The surveys are free and optional.
• Internet and phone. Service interruptions can happen. The City says its goal is to have internet disconnections fixed by the provider within 24 hours, and asks residents to report outages to both their provider and the City.
• Lawns and irrigation. Boulevard lawns near the road will be regraded where curbs are replaced, and damage to lawns, walkways and driveways is to be restored. Residents with sprinkler heads in the City's road allowance are asked to disconnect and remove them, and to flag any others.

The work now spans two seasons, so some of these items will come up again in 2027 when road construction on Spruce resumes. The project page is the place to watch. It lists contacts for daily construction questions and for the Halton Region watermain work, and it lets you sign up for an email whenever the page is updated.

Until then, the Shoreacres Creek crossing stays closed while the tunnel waits for its concrete pressure pipe, with December as the City's anticipated reopening.

If you're planning a sale or purchase on Spruce Avenue, Goodram Drive or the nearby courts over the next year, it helps to know where the 2027 road work fits in your timeline from the start. Jessica Alexopoulos can talk through how the construction schedule may affect your plans. Get in Touch.