Bank Street Widening - Leitrim/Findlay Creek

[lrt's friend]

I was at a public meeting last night at the Fred Barrett Arena. The widening of Bank Street from south of Leitrim Road (the end of 4 lanes) to Blais Road is to commence construction this spring with completion in 2026. Traffic in the area has been problematic for several years. The section of Bank Street that crosses Findlay Creek (the waterway) is to completely closed for most of the 2024 construction season to facilitate the replacement of the creek culvert. This is immediately south of the Findlay Creek Shopping Centre. This will likely cause traffic chaos on Bank Street south, Albion Road, and Hawthorne Road, the latter two being the detour routes.

Here is the link to the display boards for the project. http://www.ottawa.ca/bankstreetwidening

[TransitZilla]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

I was at a public meeting last night at the Fred Barrett Arena. The widening of Bank Street from south of Leitrim Road (the end of 4 lanes) to Blais Road is to commence construction this spring with completion in 2026. Traffic in the area has been problematic for several years. The section of Bank Street that crosses Findlay Creek (the waterway) is to completely closed for most of the 2024 construction season to facilitate the replacement of the creek culvert. This is immediately south of the Findlay Creek Shopping Centre. This will likely cause traffic chaos on Bank Street south, Albion Road, and Hawthorne Road, the latter two being the detour routes.

Here is the link to the display boards for the project. http://www.ottawa.ca/bankstreetwidening

Did they discuss any timeline for reconstruction of the intersection at Bank & Leitrim?

It is just outside the scope of the current project but it really needs attention. The current geometry is really challenging and borderline dangerous.

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by TransitZilla

Did they discuss any timeline for reconstruction of the intersection at Bank & Leitrim?

It is just outside the scope of the current project but it really needs attention. The current geometry is really challenging and borderline dangerous.

Yes, it came up. I was lucky since I was with a former Gloucester City Councillor and he knew what questions to ask.

So, it is a separate project and given the 2+ year time line on the current project, the Leitrim Road intersection project may move forward within that time frame.

I know that intersection is awful. The sight line turning left off of Leitrim onto northbound Bank is blind given the curve at the intersection.

[Davis137]

The thing is, the pavement along that stretch is brutal as it is now, and I think that won't change after they widen the road. The contractor used for this project will use the same old crappy paving materials, which will go to ruin again after it's subjected to heavy construction vehicles like dump trucks for years to come (the suburbs out there keep getting bigger with each passing month), and increased traffic volume. It doesn't help that this section of Bank Street is built on top of former swamp/wetlands (as are the subdivisions being built out there), which will likely be frost heaved, or sink, and easily pothole again.

Eventually the city is going to have to change it's ways and stop having the same contractors on retainer for the lowest bid, and the cheapest materials...this costs more overall than using better materials and construction methods up front.

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by Davis137

The thing is, the pavement along that stretch is brutal as it is now, and I think that won't change after they widen the road. The contractor used for this project will use the same old crappy paving materials, which will go to ruin again after it's subjected to heavy construction vehicles like dump trucks for years to come (the suburbs out there keep getting bigger with each passing month), and increased traffic volume. It doesn't help that this section of Bank Street is built on top of former swamp/wetlands (as are the subdivisions being built out there), which will likely be frost heaved, or sink, and easily pothole again.

Eventually the city is going to have to change it's ways and stop having the same contractors on retainer for the lowest bid, and the cheapest materials...this costs more overall than using better materials and construction methods up front.

Yes, except for the hills, the whole area was wetland. While under provincial jurisdiction, when Bank Street was Highway 31, they put a lot of money into the road bed but as soon as the road was downloaded, everything went to pot. They did a terrible job when the trunk sewer was extended to Findlay Creek, leaving Bank Street with a very wavy surface. Bank Street remains a mess south of Conroy Road, with the city doing no more than patchwork here and there to add turning lanes. It is shameful that the city has collected development fees from thousands of new homes and left the key access road in such a mess.