Ottawa commuters frustrated by transit and road closures

The warm weather means more construction across the city, leading to heavier congestion on Ottawa roads. CTV’s Josh Marano reports.

Lane reductions and road closures mean construction season is in full swing in the nation’s capital, and as expected, commuters are not happy.

Several projects were planned at the start of the season to fix up roads and improve infrastructure, including work on Montreal Road, where all Highway 174 on-and-off ramps are closed for construction.

Only one lane in each direction is open, causing significant delays in commuter travel.

Coun. Tim Tierney, who serves as the chair of the public works and infrastructure committee, says the O-Train East Extension projects have caused major headaches for drivers.

“East of St. Laurent Boulevard, it’s been pure traffic hell for over two years,” Tierney said.

“Over 500 closures, in different respects, just for construction of that east line and it’s creating way too much demand on our streets.”

The Stage 2 East integration activities also took a toll on Line 1 riders, with scheduled maintenance this weekend resulting in no train service on Line 1.

Many riders not finding out about the closures until arriving at Blair Station.

“Having a train shutdown is not the most convenient, especially with not that much notice around for out-of-towners,” said Aerin Leavitt, visiting Ottawa from Vancouver for the week.

Replacement buses were running between Tunney’s Pasture and Blair Station to accommodate for the maintenance.

“I’m trying to hit some museums before I go, but this put a little bit of dent in those plans, I’m going to take the replacement bus, but it’ll take a lot longer than it usually does,” Leavitt added.

The maintenance schedule for Line 1 also includes no train service of the entire line between 8 a.m. and noon on June 22 and on June 29.

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