A major change to the $33 million Elgin Street construction project will mean no more wires and hydro poles on this popular downtown street.
The reasons for going underground were spelled out in a memo released by city staff today.
Safety is one of the major factors according to the city's Director of Infrastructure Services Alain Gonthier,
"Hydro Ottawa has also expressed public and worker safety concerns related to the
resulting overhead servicing. The pole locations would not provide sufficient line
clearance from permanent structures and buildings", wrote Gontheir.
The cost to bury wires is more than $3 million and will be absorbed in the current budget.
Major construction will begin in 2019 with Elgin Street fully closed for the entire year from Gloucester Street to Isabella.
The completion of the project is scheduled for 2020.