Residents on a strip of Bank Street in Ottawa’s south end are bracing themselves for a major road closure starting this week.
The $50 million project will widen Bank Street in Findlay Creek from two lanes, to four, between Leitrim Road to south of Blais Road. The project will add bike lanes, six kilometres of sidewalks and replace ageing sewer and water infrastructure.
The busy street will close in both directions until December, making some residents nervous of severe traffic disruptions.
“The reason for the closure is for safety reasons. Because of the underground installations, we can’t safely maintain traffic, so it’s a necessary closure,” said Stephen Gallagher, the senior engineer for the city of Ottawa.
Bank Street will be closed between Blais Road and Shuttleworth Drive between June and December for widening work.
Gallagher says residents can expect about a five to ten minute delay for commuters going around detours in the area.
Residents gathered on Tuesday at a public meeting to react to the plans, with many having pushed the city to provide adequate transportation improvements for years.
“I’m happy they are finally going to create a larger road for all of the traffic that has built up incredibly over the past few years,” said Findlay Creek resident Andrea Dewar.
“I think it’s great, it’s long long overdue.”
Residents gathering at a public meeting to provide input on repairs taking place on Bank Street. (Shaun Vardon/CTV News Ottawa)
The area has seen an immense growth of homes and population. Detours will be in place along Hawthorne and Albion roads during the closure. City officials say traffic calming will be put in place to help protect nearby residential streets.
“It’s a good thing but, they probably would have saved a ton of money had they made it a condition of the development,” said another resident Laurent Gagnier.
“I know the LRT is coming, but for a lot of us it’s a three or four kilometre walk and we don’t have great bus service out here.”
Coun. Steve Desroches says despite the disruptions, the improvements are much needed.
“I’m very sympathetic to the impact on the community and businesses, but a modern urban area needs modern infrastructure,” he said.
This closure is the first of two stages. An adjacent section of Bank Street from Shuttleworth Drive (including the intersection) to south of Leitrim Drive will be under construction starting next year.
The entirety of the construction isn’t scheduled to be done until 2026.
With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Shaun Vardon