Rideau Street sinkhole will be fixed 'well before' Obama visit, says mayor
U.S., Mexican presidents arrive in Ottawa Wednesday
The President of the United States of America need not fear the Rideau Street sinkhole.
Roads currently closed as construction crews work around the clock to patch up a giant hole on Rideau Street near the intersection with Sussex Drive will be open by the time Barack Obama arrives for Wednesday's Three Amigos summit with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, said Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson.
- LRT tunnel work to resume this week after sinkhole flooding
- City hopes free parking, buses entice people to shop in sinkhole area
- Justin Trudeau rolling out the Liberal red carpet for Mexico and U.S. presidents
"Obviously, it will be done well in advance of President Obama's visit and well in advance of Canada Day," Watson said after a breakfast event Thursday.
"Whether it's going to be this Sunday or Monday, we'll let you know but we're certainly working 24 hours a day to get it fixed because we know how important that intersection is for pedestrians, cyclists, and it's a major bus route."
The director of Ottawa's rail implementation office reminded reporters later that the timeline for reopening all depends on the road passing inspections.
"The reconstruction is progressing very well, we expect construction to be winding down this weekend, it should be complete early next week," said Steve Cripps.
"Safety is our top concern so once the engineers have provided us with the necessary signoffs that the road is safe to reopen then we'll progress at that point."
The closed intersection is on the main route between Ottawa's parliamentary precinct and the prime minister's home, Rideau Hall, the US embassy and the American ambassador's residence.
Rideau Street is currently closed to vehicles from Sussex Drive to Dalhousie Street, while Sussex Drive is closed from Rideau Street to George Street.
Reminder June 21: Detours due to incident at Rideau & Sussex. Use map to help plan your route. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/otttraffic?src=hash">#otttraffic</a> <a href="https://t.co/K9Izk6KKSw">pic.twitter.com/K9Izk6KKSw</a>
—@Ottawa_TrafficWellington Street is also closed from Mackenzie Avenue to Sussex Drive, along with Colonel By Drive from Rideau Street to Daly Avenue.
As of Monday, all the businesses in the area had safe drinking water and were given the all-clear to reopen.
The city is offering two hours of free parking at the ByWard Market parking garages on Clarence Street on Sunday and free hourly shuttles to the Rideau Centre from Trim, Fallowfield and Eagleson transit stations the same day to help bring shoppers to the area, as there was last Sunday.