In downtown’s roadwork maze, a bit of a relief and a new challenge

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Londoners commuting through downtown will face a new headache starting this week, but another traffic snarl will likely end soon.

According to city hall, York Street will be completely closed to through-traffic from just west of Clarence Street to Wellington Street beginning Tuesday through the rest of the year.

Just the south sidewalk will remain open with signage to direct pedestrians, and there will be no impacts on transit routes. Clarence Street also remains closed at York Street. According to the city, the project is intended to replace water, sewer, and stormwater infrastructure.

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The work is necessary to increase sewer capacity for new development, and to continue the separation of sewer and stormwater networks, city officials say. When the combined networks are overwhelmed with water during storms, it can lead to releases of untreated sewage into the Thames River.

Access to the Citi Plaza parking garage from York Street, as well as the York Street pedestrian entrance, will remain closed. Drivers will still be able to access the surface parking lot and garage on the south side of York Street, but must approach from Wellington Road, westbound.

There might be some relief on Wellington from York to Queens Avenue, however.

In a statement, the city announced that pavement markings and line painting are continuing on the northbound lanes of Wellington over that stretch in preparation for an eventual opening.

Reduced lanes will still be needed to place light poles, more concrete work, and a topcoat of asphalt for both sides of the street will be needed in the fall, but an opening date has yet to be confirmed.

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The closures have been in place amid construction on the city’s $454-million bus rapid transit (BRT) network, with the stretch of Wellington serving as the connection between the south leg’s two end points: The “downtown loop” on Wellington, Queens Avenue, Ridout Street North and King Street, and White Oaks Mall.

Bus rapid transit is a system of high-frequency public transit buses designed to carry more people more quickly across the city, using dedicated bus lanes painted bright red, which the city began painting on King Street late last year for the eastern stretch of BRT.

Londoners also can expect to see more bus-only lanes painted on Wellington, Queens Avenue, Ridout and King streets this year as part of the BRT project, in addition to more dedicated stations along the corridors.

jmoulton@postmedia.com

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