How the Ottawa-Gatineau bridge closures will affect your commute

The federal government and the National Capital Commission (NCC) are rolling out four years of staggered construction across three of the five bridges connecting Ottawa and Gatineau.

• Bridge closures expected to snarl interprovincial traffic

The first project starts March 30 and the last isn't expected to end until December 2022.

What itmeans this year

First of all, the two busiest bridges over the Ottawa River, which carryabout 55 per cent of average daily vehiculartraffic, are basically being left alone.

The Macdonald-CartierBridge connecting King Edward Avenue in Ottawa to Highway 5 in Gatineau is getting some rather routine inspection work in June, costing it a Gatineau-bound lane outside of rush hour.

The ChamplainBridge between Island Park Drive and chemin d'Aylmerisn't having anything done.

ThisJunewill see a number of disruptions onthe Alexandra, Chaudire and Portage bridges, however, particularly if you're going to Quebec:

• Drivers will lose one of the two Gatineau-bound lanes on the Portage Bridge linking Wellington Street to boulevard Maisonneuvefromthe end of Marchto June, allowingthe NCC toraise and separate the existing bike lane. Another of these lanes will occasionally close outside rush hours.
• FromJune to August, theChaudireBridgenear the Canadian War Museum is closed to most vehicles as part of the Zibi construction project. Buses can still use it on a "limited detour"through the Zibi site, andcyclists and pedestrians will have a sidewalk available.
• Starting in June, the Alexandra Bridge between the National Gallery of Canada and Canadian Museum of History is down to one reversible traffic lane and the pedestrian boardwalk. Traffic will flow toward Ottawa at all times except from 3 to 7 p.m., when it will change to allow only Gatineau-bound traffic.

2020

This summer will seejust one construction project at a time.

The Alexandra Bridge is back to two traffic lanes inJune.

InJuly, the ChaudireBridgeis down to a single reversible lane over the Union Bridge the green-tinged portion in the middle that turns 100 this year.

It will likely follow a similar pattern as the Alexandra Bridge's reversible plan.

2021

Two of the five bridges are affected by construction work this summer, similar to the late summer of 2019.

The Alexandra Bridge loses its boardwalk to rehabilitation work inJune, so it's back to a single lane of reversible traffic and sending pedestrians to the reworked grated lane on the east side of the bridge.

And the ChaudireBridge work that began the previous yearis expected to end inOctober.

2022

The Alexandra Bridge boardwalk steel replacement will last untilDecember.