WATCH: Water main work will shut down two northbound lanes on University Avenue. Mark McAllister has the details.
TORONTO – The grand boulevard through downtown Toronto will be burdened for at least three more weeks.
Two northbound lanes on University Ave. at Elm St. will be closed for watermain construction starting Sunday. Westbound access from Elm Street will be shut down as well.
“It is going to have an impact on traffic in the local area,” said John Kelly, a director for the city’s engineering and construction services. “We would recommend to motorists to seek an alternate route if they’re finding delays are too long.”
There have been a number of projects along the route from Front Street to Bloor Street that have caused various delays for years.
Work on Union Station continues to create gridlock in that area. The installation of new bike lanes on Richmond Ave. at University has made way for Toronto Hydro work underground in that area and road resurfacing around Queens Park Cir. at Wellesley is just finishing.
Mayor John Tory has identified better coordination of city projects as a priority both throughout his election campaign and since taking office.
“More than a year in advance of undertaking any planned work, different departments in the city are getting together and comparing their work schedules to make sure we don’t have these major conflicts,” Kelly said.
The watermain work, in this case, will be taking place along hospital row and will have a direct impact on ambulances getting around in emergency situations.
“That will slow down traffic but we’ll still be able to get through it,” a superintendent for Toronto EMS, Shamez Kassam said. “If we have a patient that warrants it, or whose condition is serious, we’ll activate our emergency lights and use our sirens.”
Information on any road work is provided to paramedics by Toronto’s Transportation Services department in advance to allow allow for the planning of alternate routes.
The city has indicated that there will be times when it seems like no work is taking place at the site on University Avenue. That’s when crews will be doing watermain disinfection and installing custom pipes.
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