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The following routes that travel on or near the Transitway will also be affected: 6, 18, 101, 114, 121, 124, 126, 127, 128, 129, 176, 192, 199, 202, 401 and 451.

For drivers

The expansion of the 417 from Nicholas to the Split is wrapping up. New dedicated bus lanes in both directions will open on Sunday, but motorists should still expect periodic lane closures until the fall as the remainder of construction and cleanup continue. Until this time, the city says the speed limit along this stretch will remain 80 km/h.

There will be three lanes of general traffic plus the special bus lane, which will take up the outside lanes in both directions and are to be used exclusively by OC Transpo buses and emergency vehicles (the lanes are marked bus-only).

However, in some marked areas around exits, the right lane normally reserved for buses will be shared with cars as these vehicles merge on and off the highway.

The ramp from the westbound 417 (east of the Split) to the 174 eastbound will close on Sunday for the duration of the LRT construction. Drivers can exit the 417 at Innes Road, which is currently being expanded to accommodate increased traffic and is scheduled to open in the fall.

The city is working closely with the Ontario Provincial Police, Ottawa police and the Ministry of Transportation, Blais said, adding that clearing collisions or other incidents on the highway quickly will be a priority.

“If we have a car accident at the beginning of one of those bus lanes or something like that in one of the mixed-traffic zones and we’ve got 120 buses an hour backing behind it, obviously that poses a pretty big challenge to keeping traffic moving, so we need to get those incidents moved out of the way as much as we can as fast as we can,” Blais said.