The seventeen-hour Carling Avenuebridge replacement project on the Queensway has begun, with detours in place until Sunday morning.
Specialized lifting machines start lifting away the 50-year-old Carling Avenue overpass around 8 p.m. Saturday, an $11.7 million project that should take only 17 hours to finish.
But while the specialized technology is at work, traffic on the major stretch of highway is being re-routed from 6 p.m. Saturday to 11 a.m. Sunday.
Westbound Queensway traffic will be detoured at exit 124 onto Carling Avenue, then back onto the highway at Maitland Avenue.
The new eastbound route will take exit 124 and get back on track just east of Kirkland Avenue.
Commuters in the area said they'll have to deal with the delays.
"It's going to be a pain, a lot of commuters depend on the city's highway system and they just close all of the lanes down," said one driver. "Where are they supposed to go, Carling is always packed."
"It's going to cause a big disaster for everybody," another said. "A lot of people will be upset because of traffic and can't get home on time."
Other residents said they'd just stay home and wait out the construction.
There are bleachers in place for those wanting to see the "self-propelled modular transporters" moving around slabs of concrete that each weighs more than a fully-loaded passenger jet.
The Ontario Ministry of Transportation has live cameras on the scene which you can watch here.
With a report from CTV Ottawa's Vanessa Lee
