Traffic between Nygatan and Storgatan is currently closed to through traffic. Here we see work taking place just outside the old Stadshotellet, now Comfort Hotel.
The work in central Skellefteå began last spring at the intersection with Kanalgatan. Now, the contractor Skanska has moved down to the section between Nygatan and Storgatan. Last week and this week, the junction is completely closed to through traffic.
– Then the work will move to the stretch between Storgatan and Strandgatan. There too, the closure will last for a few weeks, says project manager Johanna Granlund at Skellefteå municipality.
After that, construction workers and traffic can share the street, each using one half.
Pedestrian and bicycle traffic can pass by at all times.
– It requires extensive planning of the work, as car traffic to properties and parking garages must be possible at all times.
The main reason for all the commotion is the construction of a pedestrian and bicycle path along the street. At the same time, the roadway for cars is being narrowed. Since the reconstruction is already underway, the municipality is taking the opportunity to replace water and sewage pipes, while Skellefteå Kraft and Telia are replacing their cables.
All this is to ensure that the rebuilt street will not need to be dug up for a long time.
At Stadsparken, the angled parking spaces are being removed and replaced with parallel parking, although there will be significantly fewer spaces – down from 19 to four.
– The work is scheduled to continue until the end of September. We will finish by laying a final layer of asphalt, and trees and plants will be planted, says Johanna Granlund.
Johanna Granlund is responsible for the construction at Skellefteå municipality. Here she stands by the city park where the old angled parking spots have been removed
The reconstruction is budgeted at 35 million kronor.
The cycle path is eventually planned to extend all the way to Campus, and the section south of the river on Bockholmsvägen is planned for next summer.
Finally, Parkbron will be converted into a dedicated pedestrian and bicycle bridge.
This is how the street will be arranged, seen from south to north. There will be longitudinal parking spots in certain areas, and the bike path will have to curve around those places
Where Nygatan crosses Stationsgatan, slabs are being laid to mark the pedestrian street more clearly.
The kerbstones from the 1950s will remain, and the heaviest work is being done by an electric excavator.
The angled parking spaces will disappear permanently, but in their place, there will be parallel parking.