Work at the Downtown Dig in Paris pausing for the winter

A section of a Paris, Ont. street that has been closed for months is reopening just in time for a holiday event. CTV’s Colton Wiens has more.

A major road in downtown Paris will reopen just in time for an annual holiday tradition.

Jingle Bell Night brings the community together with Christmas music, hot chocolate and apple cider, deals for holiday shoppers, a toy drive and tree lighting ceremony at Cobblestone Commons.

The County of Brant said construction on Grand River Street North, from the Nith River Bridge to Mechanic Street, is set to wrap up ahead of Friday’s celebration.

The closure is part of an ongoing infrastructure renewal project called the Downtown Dig, which began back in 2024.

“It’s definitely a short-term pain for long-term gain,” admitted Erica Grimes, the downtown construction liaison for the County of Brant.

Phase 2 of the work started on Grand River Street North in May. Critical underground infrastructure, such as water mains, sewer lines, and utilities such as gas and electricity, were replaced.

“All the infrastructure under the ground, the stuff we can’t see, is complete,” Grimes said. “They’re laying sidewalks right now on the east side and then they’ll be doing brickwork, as well as planters.”

There have been some challenges along the way.

“On the west side of the street, they didn’t have the hydro ducts that the east side did,” explained Grimes. “It was delayed because there were two lines of ducts that they had to work on.”

On Monday afternoon, sidewalks were laid down on the east side of Grand River Street North. That presented a problem for businesses that didn’t have back entries.

Matt Cummings, the owner of Stillwaters Plate and Pour, knows the work must get done.

“You can sit here and argue all day long about different parking and could have done this, could have done that, or whatever,” he said. “Because the alternative is a downtown that deteriorates. And so, as painful as it is in the moment, I welcome the long-term outlook that the county has. For me, that’s how I look at things. I’m not solving problems today. I’m solving problems five, 10 years from now. If we’re all aligned in the same view, minus a few details, we’ll be okay.”

Crews will return to Grand River Street North next spring.

“There’s still that hydro project that has to be done,” Grimes said. “They delayed it because they wanted to get it open in time for the holiday season.”

According to County of Brant’s website, construction crews will focus on the intersection of Grand River Street North and William Street. There will also be a full underground replacement and streetscaping of Mechanic Street from Grand River Street North to West River Street.

Reaction from residents

The multi-phase project has been met with excitement from the community.

“The construction crews have been terrific,” said one resident. “They’ve considered everyone’s concerns.”

Sherian Groppini, owner of From the Attic Interiors, was also impressed with the consideration given to downtown businesses.

“The construction people have all been so kind,” she said. “They’ve given us tons of notice when they needed to access things. They’ve been totally respectful. For the most part, I think they’ve done an amazing job at being on time with their schedule. Of course, with every dig you’re going to find some hiccups.”

It also hasn’t had a huge impact on her business.

“The only day that we actually shut was the day they put down the sidewalks,” Groppini said, adding that shoppers have not been deterred by the construction. “People outside of our community, they thrown Paris into their GPS and it takes them all around the detours. They park in the back and come through the side gates.”

Residents are also happy the project is moving forward.

“I think when it’s all done, everyone’s going to like it,” said one. “It’s just a little hard to really figure out right now, but it’s coming together.”

“It has to be worth it,” added Groppini. “The infrastructure needed to be done. There is definitely never going to be the right time to do it.”

The Downtown Dig will continue until 2028.