An early start to construction season in Ottawa is already slowing traffic across key routes, with a major closure set to begin on Woodroffe Avenue. Starting March 30, Woodroffe between Richmond Road and Deschenes Street will be fully closed. The project includes significant underground infrastructure upgrades and a full road reconstruction, forcing drivers to adjust to detours and changing traffic patterns. But it’s not just commuters feeling the impact. Businesses along the corridor say construction has already been affecting them for years and the upcoming closure could make things even more difficult. “It’s a nightmare to everybody. It’s been a devastation to all the businesses, to all the residents,” says Maggie Freitas, owner of Flowers by Maggie, located next to the construction zone. Freitas says ongoing work tied to Stage 2 LRT construction has already made it harder for customers to access her shop, pointing to poor signage and concerns about road conditions in the area. “They say the roads are dangerous, there’s a lot of holes, they don’t want to drive their cars in,” she says. “There’s not enough signs… the signs are really bad.” The upcoming closure will mark the second time in less than a year that part of Woodroffe has been shut down, cutting off a key route to her business once again. Still, the city says access to local businesses will be maintained throughout the project, and the Richmond and Woodroffe intersection will remain open to east and westbound traffic. The work on Woodroffe is just one of several projects ramping up across the city including new cycling infrastructure on Laurier and Elgin and continued work on Bank Street near Heron.
