Wednesday marks the start of the Bayers Road and Oxford Street intersection temporary closure. The closure is part of Phase 2 of the Bayers Road Transit Priority Corridor Project. “Halifax Water is an internal stakeholder in this project, they joined with us to do a transmission upgrade, transmission water main. They are also working on their sewer separation plan. What that’s going to do is we’re upgrading the sanitary and upgrading the storm system through here,” says Manuel Cierra, HRM program manager. Drivers describe this area as a main vein, and it’s one many commuters are avoiding. Heidi Rhyno is a real estate agent in Halifax. She says the main question she gets from clients is how long it takes to get from their home to work, and construction plays a part in that. “In general, in the city I think there’s a real lack of infrastructure planning right now. When you see something like this that’s so central, and then every other route is crap. They aren’t giving anywhere better to drive through,” says Rhyno. Others like Louis Barrault, are always driving around the city; he drives animals to Hope for Wildlife, so for him he’s always looking for new routes to get around. “The one on Bayers Road I try to avoid as much as possible, because it’s kind of a nightmare,” says Barriault, who lives in Dartmouth. These drivers say traffic in this area is always slow, but the construction that has been here since August has been another obstacle they’ve had to navigate. “The plan right now is to be done by November 12, and then we will go back to our outbound closure until we complete the season of work which will be December 17,” says Cierra. HRM says they recognize the impact Phase 2 of the Bayers Road Transit Priority Corridor Project will have, given there are businesses, homes, and schools surrounding it. “We have coordinated detour routes with other major projects in the area; we have also provided local access traffic arrangements. What I mean by that is that from Connolly to Connaught Avenue on Bayers Road initially we were doing that as an outbound directional closure, we are providing an additional lane inbound for local traffic only so that’s turning into a two way,” adds Cierra. HRM explains that the closure of the intersection was necessary for safety, and traffic teams will monitor the detours. “Our excavation is going to be about 15 feet deep, and it happens to be along the center of the road, so there is not much road left when it’s all said and done to upgrade the infrastructure,” says Cierra. Come Nov. 12, Bayers Road between Windsor Street and Connolly Street will be open to one-way outbound traffic and two-way traffic is expected to be restored on Dec. 17. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
