Rideau Street expected to reopen late next week, says Watson

The stretch of Rideau Street gutted by a sinkhole should be open again late next week, says Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson.

Nobody was injured after a five-metre deep hole opened up near the intersection of Rideau Street and Sussex Drive June 8, but several streets and sidewalks nearby were closed and businesses kept from opening for days.

• Massive sinkhole closes Rideau Street in downtown Ottawa
• Some Rideau Street businesses remain shuttered 5 days after sinkhole

Those closures have gradually been lifting and Rideau Street is on track to open again late next week, Watson said Friday afternoon.

"We will have it reinstated [and] repaved. The sidewalks may not be done by then, but there will be bus traffic, automobile traffic that's permitted, and certainly we already have pedestrian traffic," he said.

"We want it done as soon as possible, but it has to be done safely and it has to be inspected."

Before the sinkhole emerged, Rideau Street had only been open to buses, taxis and delivery vehicles because of light rail construction.

Free buses, parking next 2 Sundays

Watson said he met with officials from business improvement area officials and nearby retailers on Thursday to hear their ideas about how to help during repair work.

Watson also announced Friday that there would be two hours of free parking in the city's Clarence Street garages over the next two Sundays, along with free OC Transpo buses from Trim, Eagleson and Fallowfield stations to the Rideau Centre those same days.

The approximately $40,000 cost for the free service is coming out of the city's parking reserves, he said.

"We think this is a good first step. This is really to drive people down here to let them know that businesses are open," he said.

"I very much appreciate people taking into account the very difficult time merchants and employees and residents have had as a result of the sinkhole."

Jasna Jennings, the executive director of the ByWard Market BIA, said her agency's top battle is fighting the idea the market is closed.

"We've certainly fielded calls asking if the market was totally closed. We had to explain that it wasn't," said Jennings.

"I think there was a lot of uncertainty, and certainly warnings telling people to avoid the area at all costs [are] not helpful to the folks down here."

Peggy Ducharme, executive director of the Downtown Rideau BIA, said businesses went into "survival mode" after the street was closed to buses and foot traffic.

"Our customer base is almost exactly one third pedestrian, transit and car vehicle. So [last] summer when the car vehicle [portion] was removed, we did feel an immediate impact on our sales,Ducharme said.

Ducharme said that without transit and pedestrian traffic, the situation for Rideau Street businesses became "very, very dire" — but she also sounded hopeful that Rideau Street would recover.

"The city has done wonders in addressing some of these concerns to open up what they can," said Ducharme. "And I know that they are going to get transit back on the street as soon as they can."

Roads, businesses closed for more than a week 

As of noon Friday, Rideau Street is closed from Sussex Drive to Dalhousie Avenue, Sussex Drive is closed from George Street to Rideau Street, Colonel By Drive is closed from Daly Avenue to Rideau Street, and Wellington Street is closed from Mackenzie Avenue to Sussex Drive.

The Mackenzie King Bridge may be closed to regular vehicles, depending on the level of congestion as city buses pick up passengers there.

Ottawa city manager Steve Kanellakos said Wednesday that five businesses in the area are still closed, and the city is working to get them open again on a case-by-case basis.

Water continues to be pumped from the city's light rail tunnel under the sinkhole, meanwhile, after a watermain break sent water pouring in to a depth of up to 2.5 metres at its deepest point.

Watson said Friday it would be another two to four days before the water is removed.