London's Veterans Memorial Parkway (VMP) is growing again, this time to the north in a bid to ease traffic on Clarke Road and open up areas north of the airport for business development.

This week, London city council's civic works committee approved a tendered contract for just over $11 million to extend the road from its current terminus at Huron Street north to Clarke Road.

The extension will add 1.5 kilometres to the north end of the VMP in a north-west direction to connect with Clarke Road near the current turnoff to the Fanshawe Conservation Area.

Veterans Memorial Parkway will be extended from Huron Street to Clarke Road this year. Including engineering costs, the project is slated to cost $12.3 million. (City of London)

The extension will create a new four-way signalled intersection at the entrance to the conservation area and also a multi-use path connection to the Ted Early Sports Complex on the west side of Clarke Road

The extension will be two lanes wide, but will be designed with an option to widen it by two more lanes in the future.

Construction will start soon and is scheduled to wrap up by the end of this year's construction season.

In 2017, the VMP was extended south of Highway 401 to Wilton Grove Road.

At the time, a longtime dairy farmer in the area called it a "highway to nowhere." But the head of London's Economic Development Corporation (LEDC) said the southern extension spurred new business development, and he believes the north extension will do the same.

"Investments of this type of infrastructure will certainly be helpful in attracting new companies and jobs," said Kapil Lakhotia, the CEO of LEDC.

He said the VMP's links to the airport, Highway 401 and the city's industrial parks plays a crucial role in attracting new businesses to London, particularly in manufacturing, food services and aviation.

Lakhotia said the work around Wilton Grove Road helped bring in Maple Leaf Foods to town. The company plans to open a new plant in the area next year, a move that will bring 1,450 jobs.

The Huron Industrial Park, planned for the corner of Huron Street and Robins Hill Road, will have 100 acres for new businesses. Lakhotia said he expects properties in the area will be up for sale "very shortly."

The extension will also offer help for drivers.

"Commuters who use Clarke Road know how packed it can get during peak times," said Lakhotia.

The work won't come without some pain for drivers.

The VMP will be closed from Huron Street to Oxford Street for six to eight weeks. During the closure, north-south traffic between Oxford and Huron will be routed west to Clarke Road and east to Robin's Hill Road.

The work will be done by L82 Construction Ltd., which submitted the lowest of four contractor bids at $11,248,527. Stantec Consulting will oversee the construction administration and coordination for a fee estimate of $854,882.