LAC LA BICHE - Last October, Lac La Biche County officials issued a press release saying a Tim Horton's restaurant would be open in the community by the end of this summer.
This week, with a little more than a week to go until the last day of summer, County officials are saying the project is delayed.
While construction has been done along adjacent roadways to the proposed restaurant site — in a commercial subdivision on Beaverhill Road near the Fat Unicorn Tap House — many in the community had already guessed there were delays, as very little site preparation has taken place in recent months.
On Thursday, Lac La Biche County spokesperson Jihad Moghrabi officially confirmed those suspicions.
"We have been informed that the Tim Horton's development has been delayed due to higher than expected costs," Moghrabi told the Lac La Biche POST, stressing the word 'delayed.' "The franchise is still committed to coming to Lac La Biche County."
When asked if there was a specific timeframe for the project to begin, Moghrabi said only that it was expected "in the near future."
The intersection and adjacent roadways to the proposed site have seen extensive upgrades since June of this year, with a new set of traffic lights still expected to be installed. While underground power, road paving and two new entrances to the commercial property have been completed in the area, the traffic lights — the community's third set — have yet to be installed.
The construction project costs for the paving and intersection upgrades near the proposed Tim Horton's site were in excess of $1.4 million.
