Brace yourself! It's construction season in London

Take a deep breath. 

That's what motorists in London, Ont. might want to do as this year's list of construction projects was released by city officials Thursday.

• When the Juno music ends, jackhammers on Dundas will resume

There will be 111 km of road construction, 16 km of storm sewer work and 14 km of watermain renewals. City officials said the work is being scheduled in such a way as to have as little impact as possible on traffic for all road users. Still, there's plenty of potential to experience delays. 

The top ten projects:

• York and Talbot Streets - involving three blocks of construction for the second phase of London's downtown sewer separation. 
• Dundas Place (Phase 2) - now underway between Dundas St. and Wellington St. to complete the second half of the city's flex street. 
• Dingman Forcemain - construction of a new sanitary pumping station and forcemain on White Oak Rd. in the city's south end. 
• Pond Mills Rd - resurfacing between Buchanan Crt to Enterprise Dr. 
• Wilton Grove R - major road and sewer work between Hubrey Rd. and Highbury Ave.  
• Egerton St. (Phase 2) - infrastructure renewal work.
• Colonel Talbot Forcemain - to improve wastewater operations between Fourwinds Rd. and Diane Cres.
• Dundas St. East - infrastructure renewal work.
• Oxford St. West - road resurfacing from Proudfoot Lane to Platt's Lane.

Additionally, work crews will be completing "touch-up work" on streets. That might include pouring a top-coat of asphalt on last year's projects and adding street furniture or removing temporary sidewalks. 

Navigating the construction

There are several obstacles that motorists, cyclists and pedestrians need to keep in mind as they try to navigate the construction:

• Frequent detours, especially in the core. 
• Temporary sidewalk closures.
• Temporary bike lane interruptions requiring motorists and cyclists to share the road. 
• More frequent changes to London Transit service.
• Lane closures at intersections for work on traffic signals.

"Transportation infrastructure improvements are vital to prepare our city for growth, support economic activity and keep our community connected," said Mayor Ed Holder in a new release. "These upgrades mean that families will be better able to travel safely to and from work, school and other activities."

That may be the long run outcome. In the short term, city officials are urging people to allow extra travel time, exercise patience, obey all road signs, watch out for workers in construction zones, and share in the responsibility to make safety a priority.