Crews are continuing their work on the Downtown Revitalization Project with plenty left to do over the summer.

that's resulted in a couple blocks of 4th Street being shut down, impacting travel on one of Estevan's busiest streets.

Estevan Mayor Roy Ludwig says that the businesses along 4th Street haven't been affected negatively by the construction.

"Obviously they're going to get disrupted, but thankfully they're telling us that most of the disruptions have been mitigated. You know, with back access, if the front access isn't open, so we're very happy about that. We'd like to take this opportunity to thank our businesses for being so understanding. I know they'll love the finished product, but to get there, there will be disruption, and again, they've been very understanding."

That understanding is helped by the fact that contractors are working hard and had the project ahead of schedule before rain delays.

"The contractors are working hard, they're doing an excellent job. We were ahead of schedule, we're maybe a week or so behind right now with all the rain. We're happy for the rain, you know, we thank the big fella for that, but we would like to start seeing some sunshine now. I think the farmers are happy with all the rain they've got but for the crops to take off now we need some sun which will help us with the open street as well."

Ludwig says that the choice to do the downtown revitalization came down to a federal grant that coincided with the city's own needs.

"The reason in a nutshell that we as a council chose to do this was the fact that the federal government, through the revitalization, offered us eight and a half million dollars. But it was only to do the two blocks downtown. We were not able to use that money anywhere else and all we had to do to come to the table was one and a half million dollars for the water and for the sewer, which within a few years had to be replaced anyway."

While people has voiced some displeasure with the project, Ludwig accepts that and hopes the completed work can help out everyone in Estevan.

"So we feel that was a very good deal. We understand you never get full support for everything we do and that's fine. It's a democracy. People are more than willing to come forward and say they're unhappy about that. We respect that. But at the same time, the majority of our people that we talk to are happy and we believe the finished project will be enjoyed by all."