The National Capital Commission (NCC) is closing a section of the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway in Ottawa this weekend for construction work before it begins demolishing and rebuilding the LeBreton Bridge on the parkway.
The parkway will be closed to vehicle traffic in both directions between Parkdale Avenue and Booth Street as of 6 p.m. on Friday, July 26. The two-kilometre stretch of the parkway will reopen at 6 a.m. on Monday, July 29.
Over the weekend, crews will finish connecting a new detour road to the parkway for commuters to use once the bridgework is underway, according to a news release from the NCC.
Because of this, participants in the NOKIA Sunday Bikedays will be rerouted on Sunday from the parkway to the Ottawa River Pathway between Onigam/Slidell streets and Vimy Place.
Anyone visiting the Canadian War Museum can still access the museum via the parkway and Vimy Place, the federal agency said.
July 2020 completion date for new bridge
Like the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway, the detour road will have two lanes in each direction, but the speed limit will be reduced from 60 kilometres per hour to 40 kilometres per hour, according to the NCC.
The commission expects it will take about a year to tear down and replace the LeBreton Bridge, which it says has reached the end of its life cycle.
The new bridge should be completed in July 2020, the NCC said.
Once it begins, work on the Lebreton Bridge will occur on weekdays between 6 a.m. and 5 p.m., with occasional work on the weekends, according to the commission. Expect “regular construction noise and equipment” at the site over the following year, the NCC warned.
The commission is the Crown corporation responsible for managing federally owned lands and buildings in the capital region.
The NCC is using money from the federal government’s $55-million investment in the 2018 budget to pay for the new bridge.
CLOSED | Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway, between Parkdale Av. and Booth St.
📆 6 pm, July 26, until 6 am, July 29
🚧 Work to connect the detour road to the parkwayDetails: https://t.co/RiP1ZUURsN #otttraffic #Ottawa pic.twitter.com/dIlQV8IHf7
— National Capital Commission (@NCC_CCN) July 24, 2019
Source: Global News