Exeter businesses brace for more construction after some report revenue loss of 20-30% in 2024

Construction set to last the whole summer has businesses in downtown Exeter on edge. CTV’s Scott Miller with the story.

The huge pile of dirt sitting in the middle of Exeter’s Main Street is today’s reminder that Highway 4 through Exeter will be under construction yet again this summer.

“We are under construction. This is now for the second year. Our first year of construction was back in 2024. And now we’re doing sort of phase two, and next year we’re going to be going into phase three. So, a lot of disruption along Main Street here in Exeter,” said Caroline Hill, manager of Exeter’s Business Improvement Association.

Sixty-year-old water and sewer pipes need to be replaced under Exeter’s Main Street. This summer will be phase two of what South Huron Mayor George Finch believes will be a six phase project, slowly working its way from the north end of Exeter to the south end, over the coming years.

“Between the province and ourselves, each section costs between $6 [million] and $7 million or so, to do. It’s very expensive,” said Finch.

This week’s work involves the closure of the main bridge, connecting the north and south ends of Exeter. It’s a headache, that should be complete by Friday.

During 2024’s construction, Hill says Exeter’s north end businesses saw revenue drop 20 to 30 per cent while the rest of town saw an eight to 10 per cent drop in customers.

“When we have construction impacts like this, unlike in the cities, we aren’t able to recuperate as quickly, because it does take a couple of summers. So, back-to-back disruption is definitely a worry for many of our business owners. And, the BIA is really hoping to be a part of that planning, especially for the next phase. So that we can work on some of that construction mitigation, and impacts to our businesses,” said Hill.

Finch says he doesn’t like the construction disruption either, but it’s a necessary evil that simply has to happen.

“If you don’t replace the pipes, they collapse, they fail, you end up with sinkholes. You end up with explosions where the pipes burst, and then you have unsafe drinking water. It just becomes catastrophic. So due diligence, good due diligence is to fix it before it breaks. And we know we’re on borrowed time with it. So, let’s get it done, and do it right,” said Finch.

Phase two of Exeter’s Main Street construction stretches from the Ausable River Bridge to Victoria Street and should be complete by October. Phase three will begin next spring, from Victoria Street to Sanders Street. The timing of phases four to six through Exeter’s downtown, to the southern edge of the community, will depend on the availability of provincial funding, according to Finch.

“You have to do in sections, because you would shut down the entire town, if you tried it any other way. Plus, to get that many contractors on site, there would be so much confusion, it would really disrupt the town immensely. What this does is it allows the businesses to still operate and function. But we are doing everything we can to work with the businesses to make it happen and keep them, you know, vibrant,” he said.

“What businesses really want is to have a seat at the table. One of the things that hasn’t happened, both in phase one and phase two, is having the BIA be part of that planning and engineering process, so that not only can we mitigate some of the business impacts, but as well as be involved in creating a community impact, and that’s making our main streets more pedestrian friendly, as well as making it a destination,” added Hill.