Closures begin on York Street for sewer repair work

Those who use York Street in London as part of their daily commute will have to find alternative routes, now that an extensive sewer repair project is underway.

Starting Wednesday morning, York Street, between the York Street Bridge and Ridout, is closed for the first part of the work.

Jim Yanchula, London’s manager of urban regeneration, says the construction is happening in stages from west to east; the Ridout Street intersection will eventually be closed, and so will the stretch of York Street between Ridout Street and Talbot Street.

“The entire Thames Street intersection is closed, so you can’t drive down there from this point forward. You can walk the site, but you can’t drive,” he explained.

The work is expected to impact York Street up until mid-June, or even late July.

Yanchula suggests drivers give themselves extra time to navigate the closures as they come, so they don’t get frustrated.

Jeremy Hanford of Hanford’s Tire and Service, which is right on the corner of York Street and Ridout Street, says the work is a necessary inconvenience.

“As a business owner, we’re not overly thrilled when things get torn up around our locations but we also have to understand that these things have to be done at some point,” he said.

“We’re going to have a nice smooth road in front of our shop, and those improvements will be done and it won’t have to come up later on.”

Hanford adds it is difficult because it falls on a busy time of year for the business when people are removing their snow tires.

“We have to deal with what we have to deal with. There’s no sense being negative about it.”