Staff Report #7
March 30, 2026
To All Commissioners
Re: 2026 Road Construction and Special Events Update
Recommendation
The report be RECEIVED for information.
Background
Many construction projects which started in 2025 have carried over into 2026, with work continuing through the winter months. Details of the major construction projects set to commence in 2026 should be available from the City of London in April and details will be provided to the Commission at that time.
London Transit Administration will continue to work closely with civic Administration as well as the specific contractors on each major construction project to ensure regular communication regarding the status of the projects in an effort to mitigate the impact of construction on service and ridership by allowing buses to operate in work zones where it is deemed safe to do so.
Clark’s Bridge
Work continues on the construction on Clark’s Bridge. The northbound stop at Wellington and Grand has been reopened with the traffic flip to work on the south side. The stop at Wellington and Grand southbound is closed during this phase of work and the northbound stop at Wellington and McClary also remains closed.
Wellington Gateway Phase II A
Work on Wellington between Waterman and Baseline is set to commence in the coming weeks. The construction includes the full reconstruction of the Wellington and Commissioners intersection and as such impacts will also be seen for east/west buses and traffic along Commissioners Road. London Transit is working with the City of London and the contractor to try to ensure that access into Victoria Hospital can be maintained for Route 24 throughout the construction period. Some concerns have been raised with regards to cut through traffic through the hospital property and there is the potential that barricades could be put up to prevent traffic traveling through the hospital. If barricades are put in place, there is the potential that all bus routes serving the hospital will have to be removed from the campus. Administration will continue to work with all parties involved to identify the best solution possible to ensure continued access to Victoria Hospital throughout the construction work.
As work will be continuing on Wellington Gateway Phases III and IV, temporary stops will be installed on Wellington at Commissioners to reduce the travel distance required to access a bus stop through the three construction zones. Temporary stops will also be installed on Commissioners west of Wellington for east/west buses.
Wellington Gateway Phase III
Lanes and stops along Wellington Gateway Phase III were reopened for the winter months. Finishing work is expected to commence in the spring to complete the installations of platforms and stations in the centre running lanes.
Wellington Gateway Phase IV
With work concluding near the White Oaks Mall entrance, all routes (with the exception of Route 30) have been able to resume regular routing into White Oaks Mall.
Since the construction of the centre running lanes, Route 30 travelling northbound on Wellington is not able to make the left-hand turn into the Mall via the centre entrance. As such the detour access via the Bradley entrance will remain as the permanent routing for Route 30 until such time as the work is completed for the station on Wellington Road and all local routes move to service the Rapid Transit Station adjacent to White Oaks Mall.
Work is anticipated to resume in the coming weeks to finish work on the centre running lanes.
East London Link Phase III AE
Work commenced on Monday March 16 between McCormick and Highbury for the final phase of Rapid Transit work on Dundas. This phase requires a full closure of Dundas until mid-late fall. During this time Routes 2 and 94 will be detoured to Florence/York between Highbury and Egerton. Route 2 will serve all the regular Route 7 stops along the detour routing and for Route 94, temporary express stops are located on York matching regular stop locations on Dundas.
East London Link Phase III B
Work continues on the Highbury overpass, with a single lane in each direction being maintained across the bridge. Work has resulted in some slowdowns for Routes 10 and 95 in this area, but the impacts have been relatively minimal.
East London Link Phase III C
Work is nearing completion on Phase IIIC along Highbury between the bridge and Oxford Street. Shelter installations continue at the stations, with all shelters in this area anticipated to be installed by mid-April. Route 95 is scheduled to begin operations in the centre running lanes north of the bridge to Oxford street starting for May 4.
East London Link Phase IV
Currently the bus entrance off Oxford as well as the far west vehicle entrance/exit into Fanshawe College are closed. As a result, buses are being detoured via Fanshawe College Blvd, Community Gate and Campus Drive to be able to serve the terminal. The bus exit at First Street remains open to allow buses to exit onto Oxford.
Starting May 4, Fanshawe College Blvd north of Oxford will be closed for approximately four weeks. During this time concrete will be poured at the bus terminal on Fanshawe College property requiring buses to be out of the terminal for approximately four to five weeks. As both the terminal and Fanshawe College Blvd will be closed, a significant detour will need to be put in place using Baransway Drive and Cheapside. Discussions are ongoing with Fanshawe College to determine if there is the ability for all routes to have space to service the College on Community Gate to ensure that stops can be as close to the school as possible. Due to the added distance required on the detour and the anticipated impacts to schedule adherence, construction trippers will be added to help maintain scheduled adherence.
London Transit Planning and Corporate Communications continue to work closely with Fanshawe College Administration during the disruptions on campus to ensure that students are aware of where to catch their bus. Fanshawe has been extremely helpful with getting information out to the students to amplify the detour messaging to ensure impacts are minimized as much as possible.
Bradley Ave
Construction on the Bradley Ave extension between Wharncliffe and White Oak Road has commenced. As part of this construction, Bradley between White Oak Road and Jalna Blvd (West Leg) will also be getting upgraded to create a four lane complete street with sidewalks, in boulevard bike lanes, lighting, and landscaping to support all modes of transportation and development in the area. While the construction of the extension will not have impacts on transit, the work between White Oak Road and Jalna will impact the Route 28 with stop closures. It is expected that one lane of traffic will be maintained through the majority of the project; however, short-term lane closures may be necessary to complete the work in the constrained sections of the roadway. During this time, detours may need to be put in place. The entirety of the project is scheduled to be completed in fall 2026 with some restoration work taking place in spring 2027.
York Street
Work commenced on March 16 to continue the York Street Infrastructure Renewal Project. Work for the 2026 construction season will be between Wellington and Colborne Street. The road will be fully closed for the duration of the project, including a full closure of the York and Colborne intersection starting in mid-June through the fall of 2026. The initial detour will have Route 7 operating along Colborne to King to use the contra-flow lanes in the westbound direction and vice versa for eastbound travel. Once the construction progresses to include the closure of the Colborne intersection, the detour will need to be modified.
Hubrey Road
Work to repair a leaking valve began on Hubrey between Enterprise and Wilton Grove on Wednesday March 11. The work requires the full closure of Hubery for the duration of the project, which is scheduled to be completed in mid-April. During this time Route 30 will need to be detoured via Midpark.
Wonderland and Springbank Intersection
Work to rebuild the traffic signals at the Wonderland and Springbank intersection commenced on March 9. The work is scheduled to continue until the beginning of July and requires some bus stop closures while the work is taking place impacting Routes 5 and 10. It is also anticipated that there will be schedule delays at the intersection both east/west and north/south as the work progresses.
Sunningdale and Richmond Intersection
Intersection rebuild work started on March 2. Work is scheduled to continue until August 2026 and is anticipated to have impacts to schedule adherence on Route 34 as a result of delays travelling through
the intersection.
Communications
The underlying goals with respect to communication regarding detours are to provide passengers and Operators with as much information as far in advance as possible, noting that dates and impacts can change without notice. Accomplishing both of these goals requires a balanced approach. A communication strategy has been developed which includes posting information on internal boards, the website, real-time alerts and social media as well as through stop level notifications which provides passengers with information regarding which stops are closed and direct them to the closest stop location. On road Inspectors are completing daily audits of all stop closures and temporary stop locations to ensure detailed information is available at the stop level to assist passengers in navigating the detours.
Recommended by:
Katie Burns, Director of Planning
David Butler, Director of Operations – Conventional
Concurred in by:
Kelly S. Paleczny, General Manager