Cyrville Road bridge reopens tomorrow
Posted Dec 19, 2011 10:49:20 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA – Christmas shoppers in the east end will have an easier time starting Tuesday with the re-opening of the Cyrville Road bridge.
The bridge, closed since March, has cut off commuter traffic to local businesses.
Ottawa Orleans MPP Phil McNeely tells 1310News it was worth it.
“Closing the bridge completely saved detours for over a period of a couple years and certainly cut a lot of the cost,” he said. McNeely also stated the project is “on time and on budget”.
It’s actually a little ahead of schedule. It was originally to open at the end of December. McNeely also says the new bridge is the first step in fixing the congestion at the 417/174 split.
The bridge will now be four lanes to accomodate expected growth over the next 20 years and McNeely says it will address future traffic headaches.
“That’s the first element of fixing the split because we didn’t have the width there beforehand to widen the Queensway,” he said.
City councillor Tim Tierney tells 1310News local businesses certainly took a hit.
“A lot of that residential traffic running up Cyrville Road has been patrons of theirs for years,” he said. He’s hopeful the new bridge will mean new customers for those stores.
While the bridge opens tomorrow, construction will continue until the summer.
