Following months of LRT construction, vehicles are moving along some major downtown Kitchener streets once again, much to the relief of long-suffering drivers.

The intersection at Victoria Street and Charles Street West is now open to traffic.

“That's enabling us to alleviate some of the construction in downtown Kitchener,” said GrandLinq spokesperson Avril Fisken.

But perhaps more importantly, drivers can now make their away along Victoria Street at King Street West, which has been a no-go zone for about four months.  

King remains closed to northbound traffic at that location, but being able to move east and west along Victoria will come as a relief to the estimated 20,000 motorists who used to drive through the area daily before construction began.

GrandLinq tells CTV the project is about three-quarters finished, with most of the water and waste pipes having been put in the ground.

While the construction project is in the homestretch, weather could still be a factor.

“We do have some work coming up over the next days, over the next week, which is weather sensitive – re-asphalting and painting lines,” said Fisken. “So you may see day delays associated with that work.”

Another piece of the puzzle is the stretch of King from Victoria to Wellington Street North. Construction is still ongoing there and GrandLinq is unable to say at this point when it will be finished.

But there is also non-construction work to do.

GrandLinq and the Region of Waterloo have yet to negotiate who will pay for the cost of a temporary dome constructed to facilitate the pouring of concrete during winter.

“They will issue what they think are claims, and we will deal with them and negotiate with them but there are lots of things to be done yet,” said regional chair Ken Seiling.

The Bombardier trains that will one day run along Waterloo Region’s LRT tracks are also four months behind schedule – but that isn’t impacting road work.

With reporting by Max Wark