By Nadia Nesrallah
Get ready to say goodbye to the mess in the middle of the city.
Ottawa residents will soon breathe a sigh of relief when the Restore the Core project that has driven locals crazy for the past three years is finally completed in a few months.
Before construction began, a usual trek from the Rideau Centre to the NAC was a hop, skip and jump away. It has since turned into a 15-minute hike through rubble, mud and wobbly wooden boards.
Ottawans lost the best part of their city for the better part of three years.
While local politicians sing the praises of the newly revamped downtown core, it will be left to the public to decide if tearing up the middle of our fair city was worth it in the end.
This project cost a lot more than money – it also meant inconvenience.
Ottawa residents have left their cars at home and crushed onto jam-packed buses. Other residents who were intent on driving mapped out different routes to get to or from work each day knowing it was only a matter of time before a construction crew clogged another major artery in Ottawa.
In some cases, the repairs were necessary, consisting mainly of water and sewer work. But most of the $80-million project is geared towards revamping the main tourist areas.
The downtown beautification project closed off parts of the city from Wellington Street to Elgin Street in an attempt to make the area more attractive and convenient for tourists.
But the mess didn’t stop there.
From Hull to downtown Ottawa to stretches of Highway 417, motorists couldn’t escape the barrage of orange and black construction equipment.
The combination of detours, lane-reduced roads and decreased speed limits made for rush hour hell.
So Ottawa will be a prettier city but was it worth it? Ottawa was just fine before the construction equipment rolled in.
Because of the overhaul this summer, many tourists got lost trying to find their way through the maze of barricades and pylons.
Regardless, it won’t be long before Ottawa residents can celebrate the end of a long and bumpy era and say good riddance to the giant mess.
And while some local residents and tourists will enjoy the revamped Plaza Bridge and its “sweeping staircase,” others no doubt will scratch our heads in wonderment and ask, “We paid $80 million for this?”