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Quebec Street overpass closed to motorists for summer as construction begins

A commonly used east-end overpass will be closed for the summer as the City of London works on renewing infrastructure in the area.

Pedestrians and cyclists will still have access to the bridge

CBC News ·
Ashley Rammeloo, director of water, wastewater and stormwater with the city's engineering department, stands in front of the Quebec Street overpass on the first morning of a construction project expected to go into the fall.
Ashley Rammeloo, director of water, wastewater and stormwater with the city's engineering department, stands in front of the Quebec Street overpass on the first morning of a construction project expected to go into the fall. (Kate Dubinksi/CBC)

Quebec Street will be closed from Oxford Street to the CP Rail overpass starting Monday as the City of London begins an infrastructure renewal project, which is expected to take the summer to complete. 

The Quebec Street Infrastructure Renewal Project will see updates to the commonly used east-end corridor, including updated watermains and added bike lanes. Pedestrian and cyclist access on the overpass will remain open during construction, but motorists will be detoured. 

"A lot of this infrastructure was put in the 1920s, 1930s, and so it has an expected lifespan of 90 to 100 years max," said Ashley Rammeloo, director of water, wastewater and stormwater with the city's engineering department. "So, it's time to do it before we start having water main breaks, before sewer failures and so on can really impact homeowners." 

Road signage indicates that Salisbury Street between Quebec Street and Glasgow Street will be changed to two-way traffic to allow for local access to East Carling Public School.
Salisbury Street between Quebec Street and Glasgow Street will be changed to two-way traffic to allow for local access to East Carling Public School. (Kate Dubinski/CBC)

A full renewal, said Rammeloo, includes replacing the water main, adding new sanitary sewers and new storm sewers and catch basins. 

There will also be new left-hand turning lanes on several streets, upgraded traffic signals and protected bike lanes. 

Salisbury Street, between Quebec Street and Glasgow Street, will be changed to two-way traffic to allow for local access around construction.

An area for pedestrians will be maintained on Quebec Street in front of East Carling Public School and the YMCA daycare. 

London Transit's Route 20 bus has been detoured because of the project. Effective Monday, a connector bus will provide service to the Mornington area, replacing the routing currently in effect for the closure of Dundas Street between Ontario and Egerton. Full details of the public transit detour can be found on the London Transit Commission website. 

Road signs redirect traffic at the Quebec Street overpass.
Motorists looking for a shortcut over CP Rail between Dundas Street and Oxford are affected by the construction. (Kate Dubinksi/CBC)

The project starts as others nearby are already underway, including work on the rapid transit East London Link and the Adelaide underpass along with renewal projects on Elizabeth and Lyle Streets. 

"Because we know that this is a hot spot for construction and they do impact each other, our project teams are working closely together to make sure we're mitigating impacts as much as possible and taking really a holistic approach to communications on all the projects, as well as traffic calming and the surrounding neighbourhoods, wayfinding and traffic management," said Rammeloo. 

The project team will be installing the traffic calming measures in late April to early May, she said. 

The Quebec Street Infrastructure Renewal is among London's top 10 projects of the year. 

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