Motorized traffic is barred from travelling across University Drive Bridge on Western University’s campus, as the 95-year-old structure undergoes “necessary repairs.”
Officials announced last week the bridge could be closed starting Thursday, after an engineering report this month noted damage to bearings that allow it to flex under traffic load and temperature changes.
The bridge will stay open to pedestrians and cyclists, but vehicles have to find another way around and the LTC is rerouting its buses.
Kneev Sharma, a third-year engineering student, said he and his roommates would have chosen to live on the other side of campus had they known of the bus detours.
“All the engineering businesses are on the other side of campus,” he said.
“I used busing to the middle of campus as a kind of a crutch when getting to class. So the bridge closure is actually inconvenient because it adds about 10 minutes to my commute every morning.”
Ten minutes may not sound like a lot, but Sharma also has a shoulder injury to worry about.
“I can’t walk with too much weight on my backpack, and adding those 10 minutes to my commute every morning is not great for my health.”
Tom Haffie walks to campus every day from the Adelaide and Oxford area, and expects the closure will mean fewer cars on campus.
“A traffic study years ago showed that most cars that come onto campus were only there for like 12 minutes, they just pass through. So this will dramatically cut down the traffic,” he said.
“Fewer cars on campus may not necessarily be a bad thing.”
In a written statement, Western’s associate vice-president of communications, Helen Connell, said safety was at the forefront of the decision.
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“We are working with the city of London, London Transit, emergency services, University hospital and other community stakeholders to communicate the closure and mitigate its impact.”
The LTC started rerouting its 6, 13, and 106 buses at the start of the week. Heading north, all three routes continue up Richmond Street past the main gates and turn left on Windermere Road, before entering campus through University Hospital.
Heading south, only the 13 is impacted. It makes a small loop in the University Hospital area before heading eastbound on Windermere Road.
Western says the engineering firm which was commissioned to inspect the structure found it needed “necessary repairs.”
It’s unclear how long the bridge will remain closed, but the university says it could take months to complete the job.
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