A construction project under way in St. George will enhance its Old Town atmosphere, says Corporation Secretary Mr. Larry Jacobs.

All utility lines along Queen Street will be moved underground and the street will be lined with antique light standards similar to those in the Town Square, Mr. Jacobs told The Royal Gazette .

The work will cause some traffic disruptions before it is completed around April 1.

The project, which is estimated to cost $250,000 to $300,000, was made possible after the Corporation of Hamilton loaned the Town a special video camera designed to inspect sewers from the inside, Mr. Jacobs said.

"We found out some very interesting things,'' Mr. Jacobs said.

Information from the video survey will allow the Town to draw an accurate map of the lateral sewers off the main line for the first time, he said.

The Town also found a manhole cover that had been paved over. Re-opening it could prevent St. George's from having to dig up the road in future, he said.

The video made inside the sewer also showed a piece of plastic pipe which had been used to tie on to the main sewer was protruding into the clay line and could cause a blockage. It will be removed as a preventive measure, he said.

Belco, Telco, and Cable TV lines along Queen Street will all be moved underground before the street is repaved. That trenching could not be done until the Town had an accurate map of where the sewers were.

Hi-Span Construction Ltd. and D&J Construction are among the contractors involved.

The work is part of ongoing efforts to add to the town's "old look,'' Mr.

Jacobs said. Antique light standards with underground wiring have already been installed in the Town Square, on Water Street, at Ordnance Island, and at Penno's Wharf.

The lights have "a muted glow'' to make them resemble oil lamps.

Also, "you will see over the next few years a trend toward cobblestoning the secondary streets in St. George,'' he said.

Hamilton bought the special video equipment for about $40,000. The camera detected serious problems in one of two sewers running along Front Street in the City.