Halifax commuters beware — you’re in for a travel scare.
When a section of Quinpool Road closes on April 1, vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians traveling to or from the Rotary will find a stretch of Quinpool between Connaught Avenue and the Armdale closed to everything but local traffic as the Canadian National Railway bridge undergoes repairs.
That means one of the city’s main arteries, used by roughly 27,000 commuters a day, will be taken offline. Construction is projected to last for roughly four-and-a-half months.
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The Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) says people should be prepared for delays and find alternative forms of transportation, including public transit, carpooling and cycling or walking.
“It shouldn’t be that much of an inconvenience but confusion will always cause a little bit of inconvenience just as people try and figure out what they have to do,” said Brendan Elliott, a spokesperson for the HRM.
Elliott says traffic signs will clearly mark the path of detours and have provided this map to assist:
Halifax Transit buses that normally travel along the yellow dotted route will be detoured as a result of the construction. Check Halifax Transit’s service disruptions pages for more information.
Although local traffic will be allowed to travel on the stretch of Quinpool Road, no traffic of any kind will be allowed to cross the CN bridge on Quinpool Road (the red highlighted portion on the map above)
The news has received a mixed response from Haligonians.
“I recognize that the infrastructure needs to be upgraded, and such is life, it’s a minor inconvenience relative to upgrading the sewage and improving the bridge and making it safe,” said resident John Cameron, who says he commutes on foot or by bicycle.
Some businesses voiced concerns about what their businesses might look like over the next few months.
“Quinpool Road has a lot of businesses here, where a lot of people like to come and hopefully it won’t drag down the businesses too much,” said Dimitri Christeas, the owner of Quinpool Shoe Repair.
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The construction will not get the HRM any closer to a potential commuter rail service, with the repairs and restoration being required to meet CN’s current rail activity as well as safety standards.