According to its fall economic statement, the federal government is committed to building “an additional multimodal bridge over the Ottawa River to further improve transportation connectivity in the National Capital Region.”
It’s a pledge welcomed by many residents of Rideau-Vanier ward in downtown Ottawa but others living closer to the proposed location of the sixth interprovincial bridge in the city — a crossing between Ottawa and Gatineau at Kettle Island — strongly oppose.
Rideau-Vanier, in the bustling heart of downtown Ottawa, brings together residents of all backgrounds, from retirees and families to government workers and students from the University of Ottawa.
Living in the urban core does come with inconveniences, such as noisy neighbourhoods and heavy truck traffic.
King Edward Avenue and Rideau Street are under the daily assault of heavy trucks traveling back and forth across the Ottawa River.
Rideau-Vanier Coun. Stéphanie Plante applauds the federal bridge commitment. She lives near King Edward Avenue and said it’s imperative to have the sixth crossing to alleviate downtown truck traffic.
“We know that it is unacceptable to have truck traffic going down one of the most low-income and racialized communities of Ottawa’s downtown core,” Plante told the CBC recently.
But she says she isn’t all that hopeful a new bridge will become a reality.
The new bridge would redirect traffic close to Manor Park, in Rideau-Rockcliffe ward, and parts of the adjacent Beacon Hill-Cyrville ward.
Beacon Hill-Cyrville Coun. Tim Tierney says the east end is also overwhelmed with traffic and that this bridge would create a larger issue.
About 3,500 trucks cross the Ottawa River on a typical weekday, according to the NCC. An NCC traffic study says “the King Edward-Rideau-Waller-Nicholas corridor accommodates two to four times more trucks than other major arterial truck routes in the region.”
The truck traffic along King Edward and Rideau has serious implications in Lowertown. In August, a pedestrian was struck by the driver of a transport truck and was left with life-threatening injuries. The incident is just the latest in a long string of such accidents over many decades.
In February 2023, a group of physicians filed a public health complaint about pollution from heavy trucks traveling through downtown Ottawa.
With a federal election on the horizon, the proposed bridge remains a key issue for Ottawa residents, though the project has no funding nor is a timeline attached to it. A new government is expected to re-evaluate the corridor.
Tierney said he believes the Liberal government’s recent pledge “… is simply politicians trying to save their skin in an upcoming federal election where they know there’s going to be some changes.”
