The planning dept of the city hall should be able to inform you about any road widening projects, and which buildings are affected. For the more major projects you can even download plans online, although the website can be a bit tricky to navigate IMHO.

Why not start off by making an appointment with somebody from the planning dept? This is public information and you have a right to know, even if it's not your land.

Often projects like this run late because of objections, appeals or difficulties acquiring land. Maybe your landlord is holding off informing you until he knows facts rather than just intentions.