By January, 224th Street will look like a minefield, again.

But the short-term construction pain should be more than made up for by the long-term gain when a new Maple Ridge main street is created, and a refurbished Lougheed Highway from 224th to 222nd Street results.

“Excitement breeds excitement,” Mayor Ernie Daykin said Monday after reflecting on Friday’s announcement giving Maple Ridge $1.8 million each from both senior governments to complete its street.

The money is part of Ottawa’s recession-fighting Economic Action Plan and matched by the B.C. government.

Part 1 of the 224th Street rebuild, Spirit Square, took place last winter and angered shop owners nearby when business suffered from the six-month disruption.

Part 2, though, particularly the portion of 224th Street between Dewdney Trunk Road and Memorial Peace Park, should go more smoothly.

All of the utilities – sewer, water and fibre-optic cable – were installed in that block last winter. That leaves only the service connections to each business and the new road and sidewalk to build.

“”It’ll be a lot quicker,” said project manager Bernie Serné.

“Let’s hope it’s not as detailed. It should be much faster and hopefully people will like it,” said Ernie Beaudin, president of the Downtown Maple Ridge Business Improvement Association.

And to ensure merchants’ concerns are heard, an open house is planned for Oct. 14. Businesses are also being approached individually.

The rebuilding of the rest of 224th Street between Dewdney Trunk Road and Lougheed Highway should look much like the section completed this summer.

Wider sidewalks, narrower street trees (blaze maples) will replace the existing ones and new street furniture will brighten up the downtown street. While most of the median will disappear, the design retains the flower garden outside Haney Bingo Plex.

The rebuilding of Lougheed Highway from 224th to 222nd Street won’t be quite as upscale.

Design work is still in progress for that stage, but it will resemble the block that’s already completed on the south side of Lougheed between 223rd and 222nd streets.

Serné said the design won’t change the road configuration. Lougheed will still be four lanes each direction with a parking lane on each side, although left-turn lanes will be added at intersections. The new sidewalks will be roughly the same as they are now, although much smoother once the older trees and their roots are removed.

The trees that will replace them also will be blaze maples – species whose roots aren’t expected to be as bothersome.

Root barriers also will be buried about 45 centimetres below to direct any roots from the sidewalks above.

While 224th Street required new storm, water and sanitary sewer, the requirements are less on Lougheed, where there is only the storm sewer to be replaced.

The soil beneath Lougheed may also contain a small treasure for the work crews. An old water main is supposed to run beneath the road as far as Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge wants to use that as a conduit pipe to continue its program of expanding its fibre optic network.

It’s hoped the renos can continue east of 224th Street to 227th Street, but there’s no money for that now, Serné said.

A request for tenders will be issued in November and it’s hoped council will award the contract by late December, allowing for construction to start in January.

But Garry Harder at Bell Locksmith on 224th St. has his doubts.

Businesses are just starting to recover from the first six months construction disruption this year, he said. Three shops moved or closed in his block as a result.

“Any time, they can take their machines and go play somewhere else, as far as I’m concerned.”

While the street wasn’t closed, the absence of parking and the inconvenience had people avoiding the area, causing a loss in sales.

Harder said this year’s construction cost him about $100,000 in expenses and lost wages. He sent a letter to the mayor seeking that amount in compensation, but hasn’t heard back. He’s considering suing the district for the loss.

He said this time, Maple Ridge district should do it properly, at night time to spare businesses and at least cover the cost of their leases during the construction period.

Serné said if the road was blocked off, an option not realistic for local business, the project could be done in half the time.

But construction at night is difficult and costly.

Overtime rates apply and keeping concrete and asphalt plants on standby at night adds to the bills, Serné said.