HALIFAX -- A massive redesign of the busiest shopping street in Atlantic Canada is a step closer to starting.

A tender has been issued for Halifax’s Spring Garden Road streetscaping project.

Even with pushback from some area business owners, shovels are expected to be in the ground this spring.

Businesses in the area are getting ready for the disruption in traffic that will come as a result.

The manager of Fantasie Musical Instruments says business on Spring Garden Road has been slow as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, but a multi-millionaire dollar renovation to the street is hitting a welcome note as attention turns to the future of downtown Halifax.

“I think the street needs an overhaul for sure,” says manager Stephen MacNeil.

That overhaul is one-step closer to getting underway, as the city has issued a tender to find the right company to bring the project to life.

“The tender is a huge milestone,” says Elora Wilkinson, Halifax city planner. “We want to do the work this year, get it done and be ready for when things open up in 2022 and we can welcome the world with this beautiful brand new Spring Garden Road.”

To do that, the street will be closed to vehicle traffic from South Park Street to Queen Street for the duration of the construction.

That doesn’t sit well with some retailers, who are worried that a lack of traffic will result in a further decline in business.

The president of the Spring Garden Road business association says the slowdown from the pandemic makes this the right time to start digging.

“We have no cruise visitors,” says Sue Uteck, president of the Spring Garden Road business association. “We are going to have very little tourism, and we still have government support, so it makes sense to do this while those supports are in place.”

The $10 million Spring Garden Road revitalization project is expected to be finished in November.

The plan is to have it stay open to pedestrian traffic during that time.

“To have the streets ripped up and traffic not on the street, I don’t think that’s actually going to really affect our business,” says Stephen MacNeil. “If you want to come here you’re going to come here whether you have to park a block away.”

The design calls for landscaping, benches, sidewalk cafes and some sewer upgrades.

Tenders for the construction close by the end of March, and the city says they hope to have shovels in the ground soon after.