Closures on 174 begin Friday as highway expansion gets underway
Posted May 22, 2013 04:26:38 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA – Lane reductions will now begin on Friday on Highway 174, as the Highway 417 Expansion Project gets underway.
The lane reductions were originally planned to start Wednesday, but were delayed because of weather.
One lane of the westbound 174 will be closed west of the Blair Road on-ramp to the split until August.
It’s the start of two years of construction, but Orléans Councillor Bob Monette told 1310News there will be increased bus service to make things easier.
“This will drastically improve the situation,” said Monette. “There will be some disruptions, but you know we’ll work with the City and we’ll work with the residents and we’ll try to deal with the disruptions as they come.”
The project includes adding one additional lane added in each direction between Nicholas St. and the split, which will be used by buses replacing the Transitway, while it’s converted to light rail.
Closures will increase throughout the summer.
Starting mid-June, the eastbound Highway 417 Lees on-ramp will be closed to traffic until 2015.
A permanent barrier will be erected on August 9, to restrict westbound drivers from exiting Highway 417 at the St. Laurent off-ramp.
The City of Ottawa is encouraging residents to use transit during the construction period. There will be an additional 11 transit trips added from Trim to downtown during the morning peak periods and another 12 additional trips added for the return trip during the afternoon rush.
“If you can work from home, that’s even better,” said Monette. “The more vehicles we take off the road the better it is.”
