THUNDER BAY - City transit riders can expect to see some changes coming to the south side transit hub at city hall, and transit officials say there will only be minimal impact on transit services.
Work began on Monday at city hall to prepare the civic square for new bus terminals and sidewalk upgrades.
The project is expected to take nine weeks and will unfold in two phases. The first phase will take approximately two to three weeks and see work on the May Street side of city hall with the removal of existing bus shelters and concrete replacement.
Phase two will begin the week of Sept. 11 and will see work done on the Donald Street portion between Brodie and May Street, including curb, gutter, and sidewalk replacement.
Brad Loroff, manager of transit services with the city of Thunder Bay, said there will be minimal impact on transit users during the construction.
“For the next two to three weeks, there will be no disruption to transit service whatsoever,” he said. “Buses will continue to park, pick up passengers, and drop them off on May Street. The sidewalk will remain open for the most part.”
During phase two, the sidewalk on Donald Street will be closed and buses will pick up and drop off passengers on Brodie and May Streets.
“We will be communicating how that will work well in advance of the change,” Loroff said.
The project comes with a $665,000 price tag, which was approved as part of the 2017 capital budget. On Jul. 25, 2017, city council awarded the contract for the work to Man-Shield (NOW) Construction Ltd.
The work being completed this fall will prepare the site for new, larger bus shelters that will include on-demand radiant heat.
“At the end of the nine weeks, things should be done and back to normal,” Loroff said. “Then we anticipate installing the new larger shelters as well as the electronic passenger information screens sometime in the new year.”
According to Loroff, the direction of city council right now is to leave the south core transit hub at city hall.
“We continue to pursue other options with how to make transit better across the city,” he added. “For the time being, the south core hub is at city hall.”
