‘Ottawa’ Sinkhole Road Closures: How to Zigzag Your Way Through Downtown
As if it hasn’t been hairy already.
Getting in and out of downtown Ottawa isn’t going to be pretty this week.
All information below is of 4:30 p.m. Wednesday:
The sinkhole on Rideau Street will mostly push east-west traffic to Laurier Avenue.
Wellington Street/Rideau Street between Elgin Street and Dalhousie Street are closed. All northbound Elgin lanes were closed north of Albert Street for the afternoon commute Wednesday. The Mackenzie King Bridge was also closed but OC Transpo was using the bridge for buses diverted from Rideau.
Driving west on Rideau, motorists will need to hang a left on Waller or Besserer street to get to Nicholas Street. From there, it will take a right onto Laurier, then a right onto Elgin and a left onto Albert Street to find an escape out the west end of downtown.
Heading east out of downtown, Laurier is the best option for getting through the core. The southbound lanes on Elgin are open.
Anyone trying to access downtown via Colonel By Drive will meet a detour at Main Street.
Finding a way to access a bridge to Quebec on the east side of Parliament Hill could be tricky since no one could access Sussex Drive from Rideau Wednesday afternoon. Outaouais residents heading home from Ottawa’s Parliamentary precinct might consider using the interprovincial bridges west of the Hill.
Now might be a good time for people to consider biking to work or shifting their work schedules to avoid the rush-hour traffic crunches exacerbated by the Rideau sinkhole.
Keep tabs on this website and ottawa.ca for updates.