Stittsville shops fear five-year Carp Road widening will close them down
Owners of Wiches Cauldron and other businesses worry the city's major construction project—costing $52.2 million—will make their storefronts unreachable and tank revenue.
The day's top stories, food & events — every morning at 7. Unsubscribe anytime.
Business owners along Stittsville's Carp Road are bracing for the worst as the city prepares a five-year construction project to expand the stretch between Highway 417 and Hazeldean Road from two lanes to four.
The project, projected to cost $52.2 million, will include new sidewalks and bike tracks on both sides. But for shops directly on the route, the timeline feels like a death sentence. Wiches Cauldron Sandwich Shoppe, which opened in 2023 after its owners ran a food truck, has become a neighborhood staple. Craig Beaudry and his wife, Monique Haugen, worry they won't survive the construction stretch.
"We understand that it is absolutely crucial and beneficial for the neighbourhood and for the community going ahead. But in the interim, it is probably going to put us under," Beaudry said. "We will not last this next year and a half, let alone five years."
Bell Media is already moving underground cables to prep for the first phase, expected to start this fall. During construction, Carp Road will be reduced to one lane in sections, making it nearly impossible for customers to access parking lots. Beaudry said the detours and delays—on a road already notoriously congested—will be "a nightmare."
Other nearby businesses, like Brews and Blues on Stittsville's Main Street, expect ripple effects throughout the area. Ward councillor Glen Gower noted that the end result will ultimately be golden for the community, but acknowledged the interim pain. Still, business owners are facing the real possibility their enterprises won't survive to see it.
