The intersection of Queens Avenue and Talbot Street will be closed until mid-December starting the week of October 3. Image courtesy of the City of London.The intersection of Queens Avenue and Talbot Street will be closed until mid-December starting the week of October 3. Image courtesy of the City of London.
London

BRT construction to temporarily close another downtown intersection

Drivers travelling through London's core will have to exercise even more patience as construction of the bus rapid transit (BRT)downtown loop closes another intersection for two and a half months.

Starting this week, the intersection of Queens Avenue and Talbot Street will be shut down to all traffic. The closure, which is expected to last until mid-December, is to allow for crews to continue constructing the downtown loop.

According to the city, vehicles headed north and south on Talbot will be detoured to Richmond and York streets, while those coming from the west are encouraged to use Wharncliffe Road, Riverside Drive and York Street to reach the downtown.

Drivers leaving the core will be directed to use Richmond Street and York Street or Horton Street.

Pedestrians are being urged to use nearby streets and use "wayfinding" signage to safely get around the construction.

London Transit will also be rerouting buses around the closure.

"Access to the Ontario Court of Justice (courthouse) will be maintained through a temporary two-way traffic configuration accessible to local traffic at the Riverside and Ridout Street North intersection," city officials said in a statement. "A temporary two-way traffic configuration is currently in place at King Street between Talbot Street and Ridout Street North to support access to Municipal Lot #8 (Budweiser Gardens) and other nearby businesses, while crews complete necessary work at the King and Ridout intersection."

Access to all businesses in the area will be maintained throughout the work.

Already this year, construction of the downtown loop saw the intersection of Queens Avenue and Richmond Street closed for six-weeks, ongoing lane restrictions at King and Wellington streets, and for a week in July around-the-clock work.

The downtown loop, the first of the city's BRT projects, adds dedicated bus lanes and enhanced transit stops to streets. Phase 1 of the project was built last year on King Street between Ridout and Wellington Streets. Phase 2, which got underway in March, will be done in four stages and should be completed by December. The final phase of the downtown loop is planned for next year on Wellington Street between Queens Avenue and York Street.

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