Construction season in Waterloo Region will be light on full road closures this year – but lane reductions and other traffic impacts will affect virtually every corner of the region.
This year’s list of projects includes several affecting major roads leading to downtown Kitchener.
Victoria Street has been closed between Bruce and Edna streets since January for demolition and rebuilding of the bridge over the Conestoga Parkway. That closure is expected to last until November, and include one more weekend closure of the highway for girder placement.
Drivers looking to instead approach the downtown core from the east will be in for slowdowns as well, as sections of King and Weber streets are both undergoing full reconstruction.
King will be down to a single lane of traffic in each direction between Montgomery Road and Ottawa Street during the spring and summer, while Weber Street will be partially closed between Borden Avenue and Queen Street from spring until fall.
On Weber, one lane of westbound traffic will be maintained at all times. The $8.6-million reconstruction project will be completed over two years, with work expected to finish in 2019.
Another two-year project will see Ottawa Street fully closed between Fischer-Hallman and Trussler roads, although access to homes and businesses along Ottawa will be maintained.
Elsewhere in Kitchener, Homer Watson Boulevard will be down to one lane in each direction between Manitou Drive and Conestoga Boulevard at times as part of a $7.4-million project involving road resurfacing, bridge rehabilitation and the installation of a multi-use trail.
Construction activity will also return to uptown Waterloo this spring, as crews work to finish off the reconstruction of King Street between Bridgeport Road and the Ion tracks.
Traffic there will be down to one lane in each direction, as it will on Erb Street between Menno and Caroline streets during the spring and summer.
Albert Street, meanwhile, will be fully closed between Bridgeport Road and Erb Street for reconstruction.
In Cambridge, Franklin Boulevard will once again be one of the busiest streets for construction. The road will be fully closed from spring until fall at Highway 401 for bridge replacement work, with Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation planning a pair of weekend closures of the 401 at Franklin.
Additionally, the latest phase of a $9-million project will again bring lane reductions to Franklin between Champlain Boulevard and Main Street. Further south, 2018 will be the second year of a two-year project to extend Franklin south past Myers Road.
The Fountain Street bridge replacement project will enter its second year, while construction in the area of King and Fountain streets will continue for a third year. Officials say two-way traffic will be maintained at all times around King and Fountain.
Also closing in Cambridge include Speedsville Road north of Highway 401 for spring water main work, and Adam Street between Queen and Tannery streets during the spring and summer months for reconstruction.
Exact dates of road closures for construction work have yet to be determined.
Other major road construction projects in Waterloo Region this year include:
- Fischer-Hallman Road between Bleams and Plains roads in Kitchener, where water main work will see the road occasionally reduced to one lane and flaggers on-site to direct traffic
- Widening of Fairway Road between Lackner Boulevard and Pebblecreek Drive in Kitchener
- Northfield Drive in Waterloo will be down to one lane in each direction between Davenport Road and Bridge Street as part of an $8.5-million project to widen the road
- University Avenue in Waterloo will also be down to one lane in each direction as part of a widening project between Westmount Road and Erb Street
- Modifications to the King Street ramps to and from Highway 85 in Waterloo will lead to periodic ramp and lane closures in the area during the summer
- Second year of widening of Columbia Street between Fischer-Hallman and Erbsville roads, with work expected to end this summer
- Occasional lane and ramp closures on Highway 401 between Highway 8 and Hespeler Road, as the 401 widening project enters its fourth of five years of construction
- Cheese Factory Road will be closed south of Gouda Place in Cambridge
- St. Andrews Street in Cambridge will be fully closed south of Grand Avenue, in stages
- A two-year, $8.9-million reconstruction project will see Northumberland Street in Ayr closed between Stanley and Swan streets
- The intersection of Ament Line and Hergott Road near Hawkesville will be closed to vehicles, but not buggies, as a roundabout is installed
- Sawmill Road will be rebuilt through the heart of Bloomingdale, although two-way traffic will be maintained
- In Wellesley, Nafziger Road will be closed north of Queen’s Bush Road for bridge replacement
