Early next week, the National Capital Commission (NCC) will begin previously scheduled work to move and restore an aging riverfront parking lot located in the 100-year flood plain beside the Champlain Bridge.
The lot – wedged between the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway and Island Park Drive, west of the downtown core – partially collapsed after the Ottawa River flooded in 2017, according to a news release from the commission on Friday afternoon.
The NCC also had to close the parking lot this past spring as the river spilled over once again, an NCC spokesperson said. The area has remained closed since then in anticipation of the rehabilitation work slated for this summer, paid for through money from the 2018 federal budget.
The first phase of the multi-stage redevelopment, scheduled to kickstart on Monday and continue over the summer months, will involve moving the lot up and away from the river and making it “more resilient.”
The Crown corporation says it will also plant 31 new trees and 1,400 shrubs during this time.
The NCC says the project marks the first step, on the ground, in its long-term plan to create a “continuous” riverfront park on the south shore of the Ottawa River.
The NCC says construction work will take place inside the park area on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. until this fall.
“Full detours” for cyclists and pedestrians will be set up during the work when needed, according to the NCC.
The commission is responsible for managing federally owned lands and buildings in the National Capital Region.
Out of the $55 million it received from the government of Canada in the 2018 budget, the NCC says it’s spending about $6 million to restore infrastructure “severely impacted” during the 2017 floods.