Let’s show our gratitude to the courteous construction crews and cheerful downtown business owners in Almonte!
by Chris Cavan
Once again this spring, summer and fall, the turquoise trucks and troops of Thomas Cavanagh Construction workers are digging away in Almonte. The backup beepers of the trucks rival spring birdsong for our attention in the morning. Little Bridge Street is the current focus of infrastructure replacement and downtown revitalization. The men and women in hard hats have dug in for another sweltering, dusty and now smoky season of heavy work. Stores and restaurant/coffee shop owners are doing their best to keep their “business as usual” attitudes and welcoming smiles in place as the streets are dug up around them once again. They’re all doing a super job at collaborating to “get ‘er done”!
I’ve consistently been impressed by the quality of work that Cavanagh Construction does and the extra care that the workers take to be safety-conscious and courteous to residents and visitors in our wonderful town. I’ve seen men and women workers help parents with strollers, children on bikes and elderly people with walkers get safely through the carefully laid out labyrinths around town. These workers go out of their way to make brief eye contact with people, smile and have a friendly exchange but their focus is on safety and service. The unfailingly polite and positive workers get us safely where we want to go or direct us to a safer route. I’ve seen them take a person’s arm or halt traffic and many times a worker has put his or her hand on a bucket or the huge fangs of a backhoe and rap to get the driver’s attention so that heavy equipment’s moving part will not swing into dangerous proximity with a pedestrian or car. This degree of consideration and the extra expense the company has incurred to hire traffic guards and guides so that we’re all safe – and yet still able to access our downtown shops – is admirable. Our shopkeepers have all shown patience and good humour as the construction grinds away.
I was very impressed with the hard work and schedule keeping that saw work completed for Light Up the Night on December 2, 2022. Our town was a showpiece with record crowds enjoying the entertainment on Mill Street. Everyone was safe on sidewalks of fresh concrete and smooth curbs.
As we know in the Ottawa Valley, there are two seasons: winter and construction season. We’re fortunate for many reasons to live in Almonte. The way in which the downtown revitalization project is being carried out by Cavanagh Construction and business owners alike in our town is another reason to be proud of our community.
Let’s take off our soft hats in salute and gratitude for the construction workers who are an important part of our town as this work is completed. Kudos also go to the downtown businesses that struggled through COVID and are now dusting their way through another year of construction. Let’s remember to thank all of them when they smile and go that extra mile to serve us and keep us all safe and enjoying our delightful downtown area.
