The rescheduled ground-breaking ceremony for the Ion rapid transit system will take place Aug. 21, and visible LRT-related construction work isn’t much further away than that.
Regional officials say conspicuous construction will begin early this fall, primarily around Borden Avenue in Kitchener and Caroline Street in Waterloo.
“We’re finalizing the details of that right now,” says Thomas Schmidt, the region’s transportation commissioner.
Schmidt says those areas were picked because the work needed there isn’t particularly extensive, and should be able to be completed before the end of the construction season.
Behind-the-scenes work is already underway, with utilities along the 19-kilometre transit line being relocated and design work being reviewed.
More details about the construction timetable are expected to be made public next Friday, the same day a construction website launches.
Schmidt says the site will be updated regularly between its launch and the project’s completion in 2017 to provide information about which roads will be affected by construction over the following six months.
“That’s not a guarantee that that particular work is going to be done exactly at that time, but it does give people an idea on what’s planned,” he says.
