London announces $200M Renew Construction program spending
The City of London plans to spend more than $200 million to build and rehabilitate road and transit infrastructure in 2023.
The city announced plans for its Renew Construction Program on March 15. The program aims to reconstruct 80 lane-kilometres of road, add or replace 20 kilometres of sanitary and storm sewers, rebuild 12 kilometres of watermain, and construct 25 intersection improvements.
Active transportation connections will also be built to improve safety, connectivity and accessibility while supporting the city’s climate emergency action plan.
The city aims to add more than 16 kilometres of new bike lanes and 14 kilometres of new sidewalk, while replacing about 26 kilometres of existing sidewalk.
“This is another busy year for construction in London as we are constructing a wide range of projects, including new roads, bridges, roundabouts, pathways and bus and bike lanes,” said Jennie Dann, the city’s director of construction and infrastructure services.
“It’s also another year of major projects in the core area. By prioritizing three phases of rapid transit in the core area – Downtown Loop Phase 3, East London Link Phase 2 and Wellington Gateway Phase 1 – the city is aiming to have much less construction downtown in 2024 and completing all the essential rapid transit work in the central business area by 2025.”
The city has also revealed its top 10 construction projects for the year. These are the projects that have the greatest benefits, impacts and scope of work.
This year’s list includes three rapid transit projects – Downtown Loop Phase 3, East London Link Phase 2 and Wellington Gateway Phase 1 – the Adelaide Underpass, intersection improvements at Fanshawe Park Road and Richmond Street, and at Colonel Talbot and Southdale Road, and various road improvements across the city.