City cores to be focus of this year’s rapid transit construction

Streets in Waterloo affected by Ion rapid transit construction in 2015 are highlighted in this image.

Getting light rail transit to the streets of uptown Waterloo and downtown Kitchener couldn’t be done without closing those streets for construction – and much of that will happen this year.

Regional transportation officials released a look at the Ion construction schedule for 2015 on Tuesday – one heavily featuring the two cities’ cores.

Ion-related construction began in 2014 at a number of locations, including Caroline Street, Dutton Drive and the CN rail tracks in Waterloo, as well as CN rail tracks and Borden Avenue in Kitchener.

One of the biggest disruptions of 2015 will begin in March, when construction starts on King Street through the midtown area.

King will be closed between Victoria and Union streets for most of the year. Starting in summer, that closure will be extended northward to Erb Street and southward to Francis Street.

Between Victoria and Moore Avenue, the closure will last well into 2016 as crews work to build an underpass.

Coun. Sean Strickland likened the closure to “ripping a Band-Aid off,” in that the alternative would have been to work on the road one section of a time for a longer period of time.

“You can rip it off really slow and extend the pain, or you can rip it off really quick (and) get the pain over with,” he said.

“We’re going to try and get as much pain over with as quickly as we can.”

Multiple access points to Grand River Hospital will remain open through construction, regional officials say.

Also this spring, Charles Street in Kitchener will close between Victoria Street and Borden for construction, while Allen Street will close between King and Caroline.

Construction ramps up in the summer, with the following additional closures in Kitchener:

Detour routes are still being finalized, however Weber Street is expected to be the prime alternative to King and Charles.

The region has also set up a hotline for anyone with construction-related concerns at 1-844-625-1010, as well as an email account at [e-mail].