Members of the community, residents and local businesses gathered on October 22 to celebrate the reopening of Montreal Road to two-way traffic and transit.
Thank you to those who attended the Montreal Road reopening event on Saturday, October 22. The event was well received with a large turnout from members of the community including residents, business owners and cyclists. Montreal Road is now permanently open to two-way traffic between Vanier Parkway and St. Laurent Boulevard.
The community gathered at Carré de la Francophonie de Vanier on Montreal Road to enjoy live music, fun activities and lunch outdoors. Safer Roads Ottawa participated by educating attendees on cyclists and pedestrians’ safe use of the new and existing infrastructure along Montreal Road.
The reopening of Montreal Road to road and transit operations represents a significant milestone for the community and local businesses. Work on Montreal Road will resume in spring 2023, with crews completing final works such as the commissioning of the cycling track east of Lafontaine, intersection works at de L’Église and Lafontaine, and remaining landscaping by mid-summer 2023. Two-way traffic will be maintained during the 2023 work and no detours will be required.
Eastbound Montreal Road, from Vanier Parkway to St. Laurent Boulevard, had been closed since April as part of a $64-million investment to revitalize Montreal Road and renew underground infrastructure. The project will be completed in late summer 2023, with the following improvements:
- Burial of 900 metres of overhead hydro lines
- Construction of two kilometres of new road, cycle tracks, curbs, sidewalks, watermain, storm and sanitary sewer
- Installation of Rogers and Bell utilities, streetlights, 11 signalized intersections and overlay of Vanier Parkway between Montreal Road and McArthur Avenue
- Implementation of the Vanier and Montreal Road Public Art Plan, as well as three public areas (Dupuis Street, Emond Street and Bradley Avenue)
- Improved transit accommodations, including bus shelter and benches
- Significant landscaping and streetscaping improvements, including more than 80 additional trees, approximately 1,800 shrubs, 6,000 square metres of paver stones and 11,000 square metres of concrete sidewalk
We appreciate your patience as this significant milestone of reopening the road to traffic and transit operations was achieved. Work on Montreal Road will resume in spring 2023, with crews completing final works such as the commissioning of the cycling track east of Lafontaine, intersection work at de L’Église and Lafontaine, and remaining landscaping by mid-summer 2023. Two-way traffic will be maintained during the 2023 work and no detours will be required.
Over the next two weeks (October 24 to November 4) crews will as much work as possible before the winter shut down.
Lafontaine/Montreal Road intersection - All underground work is now complete at the intersection and the site has been prepared for concrete sidewalk. Construction of concrete sidewalks is tentatively scheduled to start the week of Monday, October 31 (weather pending).
L’Eglise to St. Laurent Boulevard - Crews will be installing demarcation tiles over the next several weeks and will potentially pave the remaining sections of cycle track.
Landscaping and streetscaping - Landscape and street furniture installation is continuing, including the installation of bike racks, benches and garbage receptacles. Installation of delineator pavers (between sidewalk and cycle track) and buffer pavers (between the road and cycle track) is continuing throughout the project site. Construction of the foundation for the electronic Vanier Community Sign located at the Montreal Road/Vanier Parkway intersection has been completed. The sign’s electronic components are on back order and should be arriving in the next two months.
Side street and Intersection work - The three intersections that remain closed (St-Anne, Olmstead North, Granville, Mona and de L’Église) will be finished and cleaned up to allow all sides streets to open before the winter shut down.
