Lasalle-Notre Dame switchover goes Monday

The major road project at the Lasalle-Notre Dame intersection will move to the second stage of construction on Monday.

Details of what that means for drivers can be found on the city's website, but anyone who still regularly takes that route will know that many areas under construction have been recently paved with new asphalt.

David Shelsted, the city's roads director, said work is moving to the areas where people have been driving, while cars are being shifted over to use the newly paved areas.

“On Notre Dame (Avenue), we've been doing all the construction work on the east side,” Shelsted said Thursday. “Recently, it has all been paved. So on Sunday morning, we'll be switching the traffic from the west side to the east side.

“So everywhere people see new asphalt, that's where you'll be driving come Monday morning.”

It's the same situation on Lasalle Boulevard, where drivers had been moving up the centre lane while work was done on the curbs. The new intersection will be wider and will have more turning and through lanes, increasing its capacity to handle large volumes of traffic.

Work began in May on the $9-million project, which includes rebuilding the road, installing new water and sewer lines and relocating hydro poles to accommodate wider turning lanes.

“You'll see a significant improvement in service level,” Shelsted said in an earlier interview. “It won't be that you'll be able to get through on every green light during rush hour. But you'll see a significant improvement during off-peak times, and a significant improvement during rush hours, as well.”

Traffic signals will make use of thermal cameras, which use heat from engines and tires to judge when a car has entered the intersection. They are more accurate than sensors and other cameras, which can be affected by weather conditions.

Lasalle and Notre Dame is the city's fourth busiest intersection, with more than 50,000 cars a day passing through the area. It acts as a gateway to the Valley, New Sudbury and downtown. Shelsted said Thursday that, while they are a few days behind schedule, they're still on track to complete the major construction work in November. Some curb and paving work will be done next spring and summer.

Anyone who wants more details on what the switchover will look like come Monday morning can go to the city's website.

“We published some great maps on our website -- we've got about five of them up there,” Shelsted said.

Links to the maps can be found at www.greatersudbury.ca/living/roads/lasalle-notre-dame-improvements/traffic-patterns/

One of the maps again demonstrates how to use the 'zipper' method to merge traffic and minimize delays for people travelling down Lasalle toward Notre Dame. Drivers should use both lanes until it narrows to one. At that point, cars should alternate back and forth, allowing one car from each lane to advance.

“We're still encouraging people to use it,” he said.