BY MATTHEW PEARSON, OTTAWA CITIZEN APRIL 28, 2014
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Stephen Harper has faced a bumpy ride in the House of Commons lately, but it’s nothing compared to his morning commute.
That’s because ceremonial Sussex Drive is currently in the midst of a massive, $40-million road reconstruction project that stretches from St. Patrick Street to King Edward Avenue.
The famed street that houses the National Gallery of Canada, numerous embassies and Harper’s official residence is a mess of orange and black traffic pylons, heavy-duty construction machinery and mountains of gravel.
To see a graphic of the summer road work, CLICK HERE.
Less-than-plucky cyclists and pedestrians may want to avoid the area altogether, while drivers can expect delays.
A mid-day drive through the entire 1.1-kilometre construction zone took about four minutes on Monday, but it’s probably safe to double or even triple that time at rush hour, particularly because some east-end commuters might be choosing to use Sussex and the Rockcliffe Parkway as an alternate to avoid back-ups on Highway 417.
Traffic on Sussex is reduced to two lanes — one in each direction — as city crews replace watermains and sewers and, later, resurface the street.
The bulk of the work is expected to be done by December, but some of the finishing touches — such as new planters, sidewalks, bike lanes, trees and other street furnishings — might not wrapped up until next year.
Work is also being done on the Sussex Drive bridge, which spans the approach to the Macdonald-Cartier Bridge (just west of the Lester B. Pearson Building).
The city says that work should be done by Halloween and will see both the Macdonald-Cartier Bridge and King Edward Avenue reduced to two lanes in each direction between 9:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. and reduced to one lane in each direction between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Public access off Sussex to both the National Gallery and adjacent Royal Canadian Mint remains open.
The underground sewer work along Sussex will see the separation of rain water from sewer pipes, which is needed to prevent raw sewage from flowing into the Ottawa River, as outlined in the Ottawa River Action Plan.
The project hasn’t generated many complaints, Fleury said, but some concerns have been raised about where taxis can pick up or drop off passengers on Sussex.
“We’re hearing that construction in general is an issue, but that’s kind of the struggle of it,” Fleury said, adding a weekly email is sent to area stakeholders to keep them abreast of the construction plans and progress.
The road work is part of an ambitious summer construction schedule that’s starting to kick into high gear.
The city plans to spend more than half a billion dollars on infrastructure renewal at 375 sites, including $51 million on road resurfacing.
Key resurfacing projects in other parts of Ottawa include: a five-kilometre stretch of Baseline Road between Woodroffe Avenue and Prince of Wales Drive; parts of Leitrim Road, St. Patrick and Slater streets; and St. Laurent Boulevard.
Hwy. 417 will be reduced to two lanes for six weekends, between Nicholas and the split, starting in the middle of May. The lane reductions will also be in place overnight on weekday.
Stittsville residents who use the Carp Road overpass might also feel some pain: it will be reduced to one lane with alternating traffic flows between now and November.
Meanwhile, major projects such as work on the Confederation Line, new park-and-ride locations and the O-Train expansion will continue.
Construction on the Strandherd-Armstrong Bridge is to be completed by the end of summer, while work on a pedestrian and cycling bridge over the Rideau River, linking Somerset and Donald streets, will begin. Construction has also resumed at the site of the long-delayed Airport Parkway pedestrian bridge.
mpearson@ottawacitizen.com
Twitter.com/mpearson78
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