Motorists try to adapt as roadwork continues to snarl traffic on Hillsborough Bridge

As roadwork continues to cause traffic delays around the Hillsborough Bridge between Charlottetown and Stratford, motorists are urged to adapt their schedules accordingly and to make way for emergency vehicles.

Construction has been happening for months to connect Water Street with Grafton Street through the Charlottetown Event Grounds. That project was expected to have wrapped up by now, but city officials said last month it would continue until the end of September.

On the other side of Grafton Street, the province has begun a $2.6-million construction project that is not expected to be complete until mid-November.

It includes widening the road by the right-turn ramp from the Hillsborough Bridge onto Riverside Drive and constructing a through lane from the bridge to Grafton Street.

There will be no lane closures for Stratford to Charlottetown traffic from 7-9 a.m., and no lane closures for Charlottetown to Stratford drivers from 4-6 p.m., according to the province. The right-turn ramp from the Hillsborough Bridge to Riverside Drive will stay open throughout the project.

But delays are inevitable. 

"I leave about 15 minutes early if I'm trying to get anywhere on time, sometimes that's not even enough," said Mary Irene Rooney, who lives in Belfast and works in Charlottetown.

Adam Greene wishes the work could have been done at night or later in the season. He said it normally takes him five to seven minutes to get across the bridge from his home in Stratford to his job at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown.

"Now 20, 25 minutes," he said. "It's a little frustrating for sure.… But what can you do, I guess."

Stratford Mayor Steve Ogden said the town has contacted the province to relay concerns from residents, though he noted the construction will help move traffic more smoothly to the Charlottetown side of the bridge when it's completed.

In the meantime, he advised residents to consider alternatives.

"Try taking transit; allow themselves additional travel time; adjust their commute and/or appointment times as much as possible to outside of the busiest morning and afternoon commute times," Ogden said in a statement to CBC News.

"Consider working from home if this is an option, and most importantly, remain alert and attentive as buses carrying our children to and from school will again be travelling on our roadways."

Island EMS said traffic congestion can be problematic for first responders. The company is reminding motorists to pull over and stop when approached by an emergency vehicle from either direction. 

"If this occurs in an area such as a construction zone where there is no place to pull over, it's reasonable to proceed through the zone at the posted speed limit and pull aside when and where there is room and it's safe to do so," Island EMS said in a statement.