Howard corridor reconstruction project nearing completion

The Howard Avenue construction is set to wrap up by mid-October.

The final stretch of work is underway at Howard Avenue, Division Road and Sydney Avenue.

The city says lane restrictions will continue until Oct. 17 on Howard and Division between the Roundhouse Centre/Devonshire Mall intersection and the Union Square Plaza intersection, with northbound traffic shifted to the east side of the median.

According to the city, the remaining work includes the completion of the storm sewer and watermain construction and restore concrete along the curbs and median.

The city said all lanes will reopen when the work is done.

Ward 9 councillor Kieran McKenzie represents the area and says he appreciates the patience from the public during construction.

“I know that there’s been a lot of work that has been going on in one sort of concentrated part of the city, so the patience everyone has shown – there haven’t been any major incidents, at least as far as I’m aware – but certainly I know the businesses will be happy to hear that we’re in the final stretch,” said McKenzie.

He said he’s pleased the project is coming in on time and on budget.

“There’s always the challenge of phasing versus trying to do all of it in one construction season,” said McKenzie.

“There’s reasons why both scenarios are a good way to do road work; in this case it was ambitious without question to try and get this all done in one construction season.”

McKenzie said he loves seeing the improvements in the corridor.

“Now that we’re at this point, I think folks are going to be very happy with the improvements that we’re going to see through the corridor, particularly the Sydney Avenue improvements,” said McKenzie.

“This is something I’ve been talking about for quite some time in my time on council about the need to improve that intersection.”

The city said Sydney Avenue will stay closed until Oct. 31, between Howard Avenue and Marentette Road, to complete road reconstruction and widening.

The work on Sydney also includes traffic light improvements, construction of sidewalk and multi-use trail, a new railway grade crossing, and boulevard restoration.

The city previously said the $18-million reconstruction project should be done sometime in November, in time for the holiday shopping season.

The reconstruction project in the Howard corridor started in April.