East Wellington Rd. between Westwood and Madsen roads will be closed 24/7 to vehicular traffic between Monday, Oct 23 and Friday, Nov 10. (File Photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

traffic pain

Key section of Nanaimo’s East Wellington Rd. closed due to ongoing water supply project

Oct 23, 2023 | 12:01 PM

NANAIMO — Punching a water line under a section of central Nanaimo is proving to be more difficult than expected.

The City of Nanaimo shut down East Welllington Rd. for vehicular traffic between Westwood Rd. and Madsen Rd. between Oct. 23 and Nov. 10.

Eliminating traffic flow at the East Wellington Rd. overpass will allow cyclists and pedestrians to continue passing through, according to the City.

All area businesses will remain open and accessible.

While more than 300 meters of water supply main line has been installed on East Wellington Rd., more connections need to be made in the months ahead.

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“It is anticipated that all of this work could be complete by the end of December; however, it is possible that the installation on Madsen Road could continue into January 2024,” a statement from the City noted.

Following the existing Wellington Rd. vehicular closure, another round of similar work scheduled between Nov. 13 and Dec. 1 is slated to see the same section of the busy link closed to vehicular traffic 24 hours a day.

The City added delays in completing the East Wellington section of the Midtown Water Supply Project are due to “a significant amount of hard rock below the road surface where the new pipeline will be installed.”

Substantial traffic disruptions will be required for the water supply project in various locations, including on Bowen Rd. next Summer, the City noted.

Budgeted at $56 million, extensive upgrades to the delivery capacity of water throughout Nanaimo began last year and scheduled to be completed next year.

The project was launched following a significant primary water supply pipeline rupture in April, 2020 in the Bowen Rd. area, resulting in the loss of 22 million litres of water.

The red section represents portions of East Wellington Rd. closed to vehicular traffic between Oct. 23 and Nov. 10 (City of Nanaimo)

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