Here's what you need to know about a 6-month Bank Street closure in Findlay Creek

Bank Street will be closed from just north of Blais Road to just south of Shuttleworth Drive in Findlay Creek from June 2024 to December 2024. (Peter Szperling/CTV News Ottawa)

If you commute from the south end of the city or beyond, brace yourself for a major road closure starting in June.

During the first stage of construction, a section of Bank Street in Findlay Creek will be closed from just north of Blais Road to just south of Shuttleworth Drive from June to December.

Bank Street will be closed between Blais Road and Shuttleworth Drive between June and December for widening work.

Detours will be in place along Hawthorne and Albion roads.

This is part of a $50 million project to widen a two-kilometre stretch of Bank Street from two to four lanes. The project includes a raised median, modified intersections with protected features, approximately four kilometers of sidewalks, cycle tracks and grass boulevards, along with paved shoulders, according to the City of Ottawa.

The City is also replacing existing local sanitary sewer, storm sewer, and water main infrastructure.

Why six months?

According to the City of Ottawa, "In order to address the challenging conditions, in particular the depth needed to be excavated safely and the removal of the 35 metre culvert, the project team has had to make the difficult decision to close Bank Street temporarily."

Ottawa Councillor George Darouze tells CTV News Ottawa that the project needs to take place.

"Is it inconvenient? Absolutely. It's a short term pain for a longer gain," he says. "It's a very sophisticated project and a long project, and it's going to take some time to get it done."

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Frequent users of Bank Street are concerned.

"I mean, I live in all the way in Barrhaven, so just coming here, like already in the morning, there's already a lot of traffic, you know," says Hassan Yousif.

"I think a lot of the people that commute don't even know it's going to happen. This is the worst thing," says John Millar, who owns two businesses nearby – including a landscaping business that has trucks using Bank Street. "It's just sort of not well thought out, as far as I'm concerned."

The area, has seen an immense growth of homes and population,

"Any time there's an impact on the business, of course, that's not something anybody, any business owner wants, right?" said Home Hardware Leitrim owner Omkar Atwal. "But I think we have to go through the pain in order to have a safer road."

This closure is the first of two stages; an adjacent section of Bank Street will be under construction in the future.