Under construction: Downtown Ottawa on Canada Day will remain a work in progress

It's four weeks until hundreds of thousands of visitors and residents are expected to descend on Parliament Hill and the surrounding downtown. But with major rehabilitation to national institutions and the on-going LRT project, what will the downtown actually look like?

Here's a hint: there will be hoarding, those big board fences all over downtown that cover up construction sites.

Here's what we know so far:

Downtown streets

LRT-related construction

Last year's massive Rideau Street sinkhole, caused by shifting soil where the light-rail tunnel was being excavated, caused a number of aspects of the $2.1-billion project to be delayed. The key setback was that the consortium building the project, Rideau Transit Group, couldn't meet its commitment to have all above-ground work in the downtown done before Canada Day.

Instead, workers will stop all construction several days before July 1 to spend time cleaning, moving heavy machinery off the streets and and installing new hoarding in the locations still under construction. 

The new hoarding will be decked out with Ottawa 2017 logos and images — think breathing dragon — and updated O-Train "Ready for Rail" messaging. The city and RTG are aiming to have the new boards up by mid-June.

The main downtown areas affected are Rideau and Queen streets. The short story: whatever is boarded up now will be boarded up on Canada Day, but prettier.

Rideau Street

The hoarding in front of the Rideau Centre will still be there, as well as on the north side at William Street, which is the access point for the tunnel, and another area to the east, which is used for storage.

People will be able to walk on the actual roadway on Rideau Street on July 1.

Queen Street

Queen is a little more complicated because two projects are messing up the place.

One is the actual LRT tunnel.The Rideau sinkhole delayed not just the completion of the digging, but also the completion of things like entrances and vent shafts. 

That's why large swaths of the south-side of Queen Street will still be behind hoarding come Canada Day, including in front of the World Exchange and the Sun Life Building, between Metcalfe and Bank streets. 

There's a giant hole at the north-west corner of Queen and O'Connor streets, which will someday be Parliament Station. The fencing around that corner isn't going anywhere by July 1, but it will be covered by new hoarding

West of Bank is much the same story, if not more congested. Much of the north side of the street will be blocked by 2017-branded boards, although there's one piece of good news: the part of the road that's blocked off west of Bank will be opened for pedestrians. 

And then there's the Queen streetscaping, which is being done at the same time as the Confederation Line.

Crews are currently installing paver-stone sidewalks at a mad pace. For the north side of the street, sidewalks should be mostly completed by Canada Day. There are a few exceptions: the sidewalk is completely torn up just west of Metcalfe Street, where Ashcroft Homes is building a condo tower. And a few bits near Lyon may not be finished, but workers will put down temporary asphalt in those spots. No one will have to walk on gravel.

Lyon Station 

The plan is to allow people to enter the Lyon Station — apparently it's going to be ready for us to go into it by Canada Day— to see a multi-media light show called Kontinuum, put on by Montreal's Moment Factory. The original plan was to have part of the rail working so people could try out the light-rail system, but some time ago those demonstrations rides were quietly cancelled.

Kontinuum is supposed to be opening in "late June," according to the Ottawa 2017 website. An announcement for this event will be made next week.

National Arts Centre

Launched as a centennial project (although not opened until 1969), the NAC is getting a $110-million architectural update.

Construction has been on-going for 18 months, and the new Elgin Street entrance will be unveiled on Canada Day — at 2 p.m. to be precise. 

The hoarding will come down, much to the relief of Elgin pedestrians. The new atrium entrance, now fully accessible, and the box-office level of the building will be open to the public. The second floor of the atrium is expected to open in October, as was originally planned.

Parliamentary precinct

West Block

The $863-million restoration and re-purposing of the West Block to temporarily accommodate the House of Commons starting in the fall of 2018, is on time, say government officials.

And while the stone exterior is looking spiffy, the landscaping won't be finished. And perhaps most visible to visitors, two construction cranes and hoarding will still be there come July 1.

Visitors' Centre, Confederation and Justice Buildings

A slew of other buildings on the Hill are also under wraps, so to speak.

The visitors' centre for the Hill is also undergoing an expansion. Massive scaffolding and grey tarps loom over the northwest corner of Metcalfe and Sparks street.

Although there is no major work currently underway on the Confederation and Justice buildings just west of Parliament Hill, they are sheathed in protective scaffolding. That will still be there during the Canada Day celebrations.

Government Conference Centre (or former railway station)

The $269-million renovation of the Conference Centre is being undertaken, in part, to accommodate the Senate during the years Centre Block is restored, starting in 2018.  

By Canada Day, the north and west sides of the building and the windows on those walls will be completed. Not so for the other walls, although "preliminary landscaping" will be underway on the canal side. And there's still going to be construction fencing in place.

Canada Post building at Sparks and Elgin

Postal Station B is getting a $50-million makeover, which won't be done until 2019.

Sure, there's going to be hoarding surrounding the building on July 1, but at least the federal government sprung for a new Canada 150-branded tarp to cover the construction hoarding. 

Bank of Canada Currency Museum

At least the $460-million renewal of the Bank of Canada has been completed in time for our 150th celebrations. No hoarding, no fencing, no tarps. 

And good news kids: the Bank of Canada's Currency Museum is opening on July 1 (although you can get a sneak peak today during Doors Open), and it's free.

ByWard Market

7 Clarence St.

This National Capital Commission heritage building had to demolished it was in such bad shape.

The concept was to give embassies an opportunity to provide cultural exhibits during all of 2017. The plan has not gone quite as planned.

The $2.8-million project (including contingency fund) is about $40,000 over budget.

More to the point, it was supposed to be open in January. Some good news though: 7 Clarence is now expected to be open by Canada Day, just in time for the Federal Republic of Germany exhibit.