A series of road closures began Sunday night for the Highway 417 expansion east of downtown and the reconstruction of Sussex Drive in Lowertown.

Starting Monday, the reconstruction of Sussex Drive will reduce traffic to one lane between St. Patrick Street and King Edward Avenue. The work includes new water and sewer infrastructure, better pedestrian, cycling and transit paths, plus new lighting and signage.

A new roundabout is also going to be built at King Edward and Union Street, but the city said there won’t be any impact on traffic.

Also on Monday, the pathway on both sides of the Rideau River near the Hurdman Bridge will be closed due to construction on Highway 417.

The west-side path will be closed for three weeks and there will be a marked detour through the University of Ottawa Lees campus across the Lees Avenue overpass and along Robinson Avenue, then back to the path.

The eastern side will have short and intermittent delays this week between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. There will be workers on site to direct pedestrians and cyclists.

This work, and the work listed below, is being done to add a lane in each direction of the Queensway between Nicholas Street and the Split – where the Queensway splits with Highway 174. The additional lane will be used for bus rapid transit between 2015 and 2018 during light rail construction.

417 closures this week

Starting Sunday, additional lane closures will happen on the 417 during off peak hours in both directions between Nicholas and Walkley Road, as well as on Hwy. 174 between Montreal Road and the Split.