Queens Avenue reopens downtown, offering relief after months of westbound detours

After nearly a year of construction, Queens Avenue reopened to vehicular traffic between Wellington and Richmond Streets on Wednesday.

The stretch of one-way road that travels west from Quebec Street in Old East Village to Riverside Drive downtown had been closed in sections since last October. Now, all lanes are open, though some lane restrictions are likely to crop up over the next few weeks for landscaping and touch-up work, according to the city.

City officials say the completed work was for part of London's rapid transit plan. Hydro work, followed by a top-to-bottom re-paving of sections of the road, and cosmetic improvements were part of the Downtown Loop Phase 2 project.

With the new improvements, a curbside bus-only lane has been built between Wellington and Ridout Streets, connecting to bus lanes already built on Ridout.

The city is reminding residents that parking and/or stopping is not permitted in the new transit lane.

For updated public transit routes, visit the London Transit Commission's website.

Lane restrictions will continue on Queens Avenue and Wellington Street until the end of the year, as part of the Downtown Loop Phase 3 project.