hydroone

Hydro One is rebuilding three downtown hydro vaults, turning Pine South into a one-way street towards downtown between Third Ave and Algonquin.

Work had begun last May on the downtown hydro vaults but the city and Hydro One put it to an end when it was revealed, the new vault lids were designed without considering snow or snowplows.  Downtown BIA manager Noella Rinaldo says work should take around six weeks.

“Traffic has been turned to one way traffic on Pine St. South towards downtown for about six weeks but businesses will stay open.  Part of the reason work was put on hold is because Hydro One couldn’t find a solution to keep business open and do the work at the same time. These last three vaults a the big ones and they’re right up against the buildings.”

Rinaldo also says the utility is planning on building a make shift sidewalk to get around town and accompanying bridges to enter the surrounding businesses.  The only thing business need to wary of, she says, is of the scheduled power outages on Sundays.

“We have one scheduled for this Sunday and it could last up to 12 hours.  We’ve been very picky with Hydro One about when they can do the work.  We given them Sundays and the summer months and many other restrictions but they’ve been very accomodating and careful not to disrupt businesses.”

Sidewalks will be partially open in the area, while laneways will be accessible to traffic and pedestrians.