April 10th, 2017
Access to the Education Centre by road is set for a temporary shake up as construction on an Ottawa/Homer Watson roundabout gets underway this spring. Ed Centre employees and visitors should plan on using alternative routes to the building during the construction.
The Region of Waterloo is advising that regular road access to the Education Centre will be limited between April 10 and October, 2017. This is due to the Region of Waterloo’s reconstruction on Ottawa Street (Regional Road No. 4) from Imperial Drive to Alpine Road in Kitchener.
The construction will involve the creation of two three-lane roundabouts, multi-use trails along Ottawa and Homer Watson, road widening and the relocation of a Highway 7/8 on-ramp from Homer Watson Boulevard to a new roundabout at Alpine Road.
Grand River Transit buses will continue in both directions along Ottawa Street for the duration of the project, although temporary bus stops and pedestrian walkways will be constructed.
You can see the roads around the Education Centre that will be affected by construction in the maps below. We have also shown a couple of suggested alternate routes for access to the Education Centre.
Stage One – Expected April 10 to mid-May
The purple marker indicates the closure of the southbound Homer Watson Parkway on-ramp to Hwy 7/8 East for the duration of this stage.
The orange marker indicates the closure of the off-ramp from Hwy 7/8 East to Ottawa St at Alpine Road – expected early May 2017.
The suggested alternate route when this ramp is closed is to exit the highway at Courtland Avenue and access Hanson Avenue via Hayward Avenue (see alternate routes below).
Stage 2 – Expected mid-May to end of August
The purple marker notes the closure of Homer Watson south of Ottawa Street.
Temporary traffic signals will be put in place at Ottawa and Homer Watson, and pedestrian access will be maintained.
The orange marker notes the closure of Alpine Road south of Ottawa Street. A right hand turn from Ottawa Street onto Alpine Road will be maintained to allow access to the businesses in the plaza.
Please refer to the suggested alternate routes in the detour maps below for access to the Education Centre.
Additional stages – September and October 2017
The Region expects to re-open the southern connections to Alpine Road and Homer Watson Boulevard in September or October. The new roundabouts should open, but we can expect lane restrictions and brief road closures on Ottawa Street for final touches and paving.
Recommended alternate routes to the Education Centre
An alternate route to the Education Centre from Courtland Avenue East allows you to avoid the closed off-ramp at Ottawa & Alpine, as well as the closure of Homer Watson south of Ottawa St.
An alternate route via Ottawa Street is to take Strasburg Rd south to Block Line Rd. From Block Line you may be able to access Homer Watson Blvd to head north to Hanson, or you may access Hanson Avenue from Block Line via Lennox Lewis Way if Homer Watson in not accessible.
For a more in-depth look at the reconstruction you can refer to the PDF attached below:
Region of Waterloo – Ottawa St Reconstruction April-October 2017
