The fallout from the massive sinkhole on Rideau St. continues.

The city is shutting down the stretch of Rideau from Dalhousie St. to Sussex Ave. to all vehicles, starting Wednesday night at 8:00 pm. The move will allow crews to work around the clock to stabilize the ground around the sinkhole, which opened up in June.

The work must be complete before the final 30 metres of LRT tunnel can be excavated.

"Jet grouting is a commonly used technique to strengthen the ground prior to tunnelin," says Steve Cripps, the director of Ottawa's rail implementation office, in a statement to CTV. 

"Once the jet grouting operation is completed, the last 30 metres of the running tunnel can then be excavated."

Pedestrians will still be able to use the area, but OC Transpo buses and taxis will be detoured.

Here are the changes to OC Transpo routes:

  • Routes 1 and 7 will operate via Daly Avenue and will stop at the intersection of Rideau Street and Dalhousie Street and Daly Avenue and Nicholas Street
  • Routes 2 and 4 will operate along Albert Street and Slater Street and will end at the corner of Elgin Street and Sparks Street
  • Route 9 will end at Dalhousie Street and Rideau Street and will start at Sussex Drive and Rideau Street
  • Routes 12 and 18 will stop at Rideau Street and Dalhousie Street and will end at Daly Avenue and Nicholas Street. The first stop for eastbound trips will be at Daly Avenue and Nicholas Street
  • Route 14 will operate via the Mackenzie King Bridge
  • With these changes, the sections of Routes 2 and 4 east of the canal will not operate and the sections of Routes 9 and 12 west of the canal will not operate

The closure will be in place until the end of December.