The Cogswell Street development in Halifax has reached the halfway point, as of Monday.
The project will extend the downtown area’s entrance northward and create development blocks capable of supporting new residential and commercial developments for 2,500 people.
It comes with a price tag of $122.6 million.
The Cogswell Interchange was built in the 1960s to accommodate a planned waterfront freeway that was never built.
The municipality is looking to right the wrong from its build.
“What we’re hoping to do is correct some of those errors that were made to reinstate the connections to the north end and the downtown and reinstate it as a neighbourhood where everybody can live,” said Donna Davis, the Cogswell District project manager.
“It’s a vast improvement to what happened in the ’70s with the interchange.”
In a tour of the project site, the municipality outlined some of the work that still needs to be done — including a new transit hub, which is earmarked for four lanes, along with a complete lowering of the Cogswell Street interchange.
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The interchange has to be trucked out of the existing intersections of Barrington Street and Cogswell Street, which is currently located on a hill.
The city can’t blast in the area due to its proximity to heritage sites.
The section of Cogswell Street is next on the list for anticipated closures, with closures expected to start in October. It will take a few months to complete.
Buses will be detoured during that time.
Part of the municipality’s plan involves a new transit hub that will host four bus lanes for transit to pick up passengers. There’s also going to be room along the transit hub for dedicated bus lanes.
Busses are expected to begin parking in the fall of 2024.
This phase of construction will be completed near the end of 2025, when roads will be completely open to traffic.
The municipality has set the stage for residential and commercial buildings to take root in the downtown Halifax development, where planners hope to include some affordable housing units.
“This is going to be a lovely new feature in the downtown for people to come and enjoy,” Davis said.
“It’s going to be a real urban gathering spot, so I think residents can do that if they choose to live here.”
— with files from Global News’ Alex Cooke
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