Ironman competitors will shut main roads this weekend

Ottawa is about to host its first Ironman competitors on Sunday, resulting in a sequence of street closures throughout town.

The 226 kilometre trek begins with a 6 a.m. swim at Britannia Beach, adopted by a 180 kilometre bike trip alongside the  parkways of town. Participants will then run 42.2 kilometres to the end line on Murray Street.

According to the City of Ottawa’s web site, early street closures for the sprawling racecourse start Friday 9:30 a.m. with the Alexandra Bridge. The bridge is scheduled to open Monday at midday, the web site mentioned. 

Portions of Sussex Drive might be closed from 5 a.m. Saturday till 6 p.m. Monday.

Several rolling closures start when the contributors leap into the Ottawa River for his or her shiny and early Sunday swim.

The National Capital Commission (NCC) expects the Kichi Zībī Mīkan parkway to reopen between Carling Avenue and Island Park Drive after 10 a.m. The remainder of the parkway ought to reopen after 4 p.m., in keeping with the NCC.

The fee mentioned Colonel By Drive and the Sir George-Étienne Cartier Parkway, that are main components of the bike course, will reopen within the late afternoon and early night respectively. 

However, the Queen Elizabeth Driveway and the NCC Scenic Driveway, which make up many of the race’s remaining leg, will not reopen till after midnight. 

Travel between Ottawa and Gatineau is anticipated to be slowed, because the Alexandra, Champlain, Chaudière and Portage bridges are closed for all or many of the day, leaving the Macdonald-Cartier Bridge as the only interprovincial bridge open for visitors.

Michelle McElligott, City of Ottawa Senior Specialist for Traffic Management Events, mentioned detour routes and indicators will present alternate options for motorists. 

“You can use our local highways, the 417 and 174 there are still some lingering construction impacts, so we really do encourage the use of public transit, buses,” McElligot mentioned. “Many of the spectator areas are easily accessible by the light rail.”

The City of Ottawa is recommending its traffic map with stay updates as a useful resource for travels. 

Sunday’s Road Closures

The NCC supplied CBC with a listing of closures and the anticipated length for areas it owns:

Sunday 6 a.m. to 10 a.m.

• Kichi Zībī Mīkan (Carling Avenue to Island Park Drive).
• Island Park Drive (Clearview Avenue to Kichi Zībī Mīkan).

Sunday 6 a.m. to 4 p.m.

• Kichi Zībī Mīkan (Island Park Drive to Vimy Place).
• Colonel By Drive (anticipated to reopen at 4:30 p.m.).
• Portage Bridge (northbound lane).
• Champlain Bridge.

Sunday 6 a.m. to 4 p.m.

• Sir George-Étienne Cartier Parkway (Princess Avenue to St Joseph Boulevard).
• Rockcliffe Driveway (Sir George-Étienne Cartier Parkway to Princess Avenue).

Sunday 10 a.m. to midnight

• Queen Elizabeth Driveway (stretch between Lawrence Freiman Lane and Pretoria Bridge reopens at 1 a.m.).
• NCC Scenic Driveway (Prince of Wales Drive to Holland Avenue).
• Ottawa River Pathway from Parliament Hill to Canal Lane (reopens Monday at 1 a.m.).
• Canal Lane from Ottawa River Pathway to Lawrence Freiman Lane (reopens Monday at 1 a.m.).
• Lawrence Frieman from Canal Lane to Queen Elizabeth Driveway (reopens Monday at 1 a.m.).