Drivers and bus riders in Owen Sound, Ontario, will need to plan for detours starting Monday, July 13, when a stretch of 8th Street East closes for natural gas system maintenance. The City of Owen Sound and Enbridge Gas say the closure between 8th Avenue East and 9th Avenue East is expected to last until Friday, July 31, weather permitting.
The work will focus on the gas distribution system in the northwest corner of the 8th Street East and 9th Avenue East intersection. Local access to homes and businesses will be maintained from the 8th Avenue East side, but through traffic will be blocked at 9th Avenue East. A temporary accessible pedestrian crossing will be set up about 20 metres west of 9th Avenue East to help people get across 8th Street safely while the sidewalk is diverted.
Three bus routes run by Owen Sound Transit will be affected. The East Bayshore route will detour northbound at 9th Avenue East and 8th Street East, head west on 10th Street East to 7th Avenue East, then return to its regular path on 8th Street East. The Core route will leave 8th Street East at 8th Avenue East before rejoining its normal route on 10th Street East. The Crosstown route will see no changes to stops or schedule.
Owen Sound Transit runs four routes with half-hour service Monday through Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The city says the maintenance is necessary to keep the gas system in good shape. Enbridge Gas, which serves over 4 million customers in Ontario, handles this kind of work to make sure pipelines stay safe and reliable.
Anyone with questions about the project can contact Ken Gillanders, Supervisor Field Operations at Enbridge, at [email protected] or Garret Townsend, Supervisor Operations, at [email protected]. Updates will be posted on the City of Owen Sound website.
