Here's how to deal with the Highway 417 closures

Highway 417 is closed in both directions between the Carling Avenue and Metcalfe Street exits from Friday evening until early Tuesday morning so another overpass can be replaced.

Drivers who need to travel through central Ottawa will have to find a detour and people moving around the area will have to deal with the extra vehicles.

This just happened in August, so there's some recent history to draw on. Here's what to expect.

What's closing?

The 417, which is also part of the Trans-Canada Highway, is closing in both directions between the exit to Carling and Kirkwood avenues (near Hampton Park) and to Metcalfe and Catherine streets (near Ottawa police headquarters).

Those exits will be the last chance for motorists to exit the highway and the first to get back on once they've passed it.

Lane and ramp closures start at 7 p.m. Friday. The full closure starts at 8 p.m. and is scheduled to end at 6 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 4. The end time could change.

Rochester Street is closed under the 417 until Oct. 11.

Northbound Booth Street closes under the highway at 5 p.m. Friday and so does southbound Booth between Gladstone Avenue and Raymond Street. Both reopen when the highway does.

Why do we need this?

The highway bridge over Rochester Street is being replaced. Over the 82-hour closure, the old bridge will be taken apart and a new bridge moved into its place.

The next bridges on the schedule are Bronson Avenue and Percy Street in the summer of 2023 and Preston Street in 2024.

What will happen this weekend?

Official detours lean on Carling and, depending which direction drivers are going, Bronson Avenue or Booth, Catherine or Chamberlain streets.

In August, these streets were clogged and the highways backed up for an exit or two from the closure as lane closures funnelled drivers to the exits.

The ripple effect created busy Baseline, Heron, Hog's Back and Hunt Club roads as drivers looked for other ways to travel east and west across Ottawa.

On Aug. 12, the only weekday of the previous closure, taking Baseline, Heron and Riverside Drive was a slightly better option than the official detour.

Broadly, streets were busier than normal during the day from the Ottawa River to Hunt Club Road and Woodroffe Avenue to Riverside. Most of the Aug. 12 problems were getting through central Ottawa or getting to and from the core from the west.

Some people went to Gatineau and back to get east-west, others cut through Ottawa to the south using Mitch Owens Road.

Remember to follow speed limits if you're driving a residential road.

What can I do?

This isn't a ban on driving in the affected area and it's unfortunate to cancel plans there when smaller businesses can use the support during the pandemic, but driving there will take you more time for most of the day.

Plan ahead: leave extra time, think about shifting plans earlier or later and have a couple of options in case your chosen route is too slow.

CBC Ottawa has its usual commuting updates on CBC Radio One and Twitter on Monday.

Taking transit, or parking and walking or rolling are other strategies. The weekend forecast is a mix of sun and cloud and daytime highs in the mid-teens.

Buses may get caught in congested roads.

The closest OC Transpo Park & Ride locations to downtown (that don't require a permit) are at Greenboro, Jeanne d'Arc, Baseline (which requires permits weekday mornings) and Eagleson.

What else is happening?

Taking Nicholas Street to access the highway may not be a good idea because construction crews are still reconfiguring its intersection with Laurier Avenue.

People who may not cycle often in downtown Ottawa should know part of the multi-use pathway behind Parliament Hill is closed.

Drivers looking for detours should remember Weekend Bikedays close the westbound Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway to vehicles 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday.

The Sir George-Étienne Cartier Parkway closes to vehicles those same times both ways between the Aviation Parkway and St. Joseph Boulevard.

The annual Panda Game is Saturday and should create more traffic around the Sandy Hill arena that morning and Lansdowne Park that afternoon.