Section of Quinpool Road will soon close for more than 4 months

A main route to downtown Halifax from the ArmdaleRoundaboutwill be closed to through traffic for more than four months starting this spring.

A section of Quinpool Road, from the roundabout to Connaught Avenue, will only be accessible to local traffic while CN Rail repairs and reconstructs a bridge from April 1 to mid-August.

The city will be detouring non-localvehicular traffic onto Chebucto Road. The detour will extend to Connaught Avenue and then south back on to Quinpool Road.

Pedestrians and cyclists will also be rerouted around the construction through Armview Avenue,along Tupper Grove to Prince Arthur Street.

The detour could nearly double the amount of traffic using Chebucto Road. Over 24,000 vehicles useQuinpool Road on weekdays, according to 2015 traffic counts. About 23,000 vehicles use Chebucto Road daily.

Halifax Regional Municipality recommendsresidents consider alternate transportation during construction.

"This could mean taking Halifax Transit, this could mean carpooling with colleagues and friends, or signing up for the municipality's ride matching program,"said city spokesperson Brynn Langille.

The city says it has no plans to add extra buses to ease traffic.

The repair work is for the long-term safety and longevity of the bridge,CN Rail said in an emailed statement. The concrete on the CN Rail bridgehas to be removed and replaced.The arch of the bridge also has to berebuilt and waterproofed.

In addition, Halifax Water has to build a separate bridge to carry water and wastewaterpipes over the railway cut.The existing structure includes water and sewer lines, but current pipes will not fit in the upgraded version.

'More pleasant experience' on Quinpool

The Quinpool Road Business Association isn't expecting the construction to affect the street's shops and services, most of which are past Connaught Avenue.

"We're thinking it's actually going to be a more pleasant experience on Quinpool Road because a lot of the commuters that just drive through it, to get to and from work, will not be using Quinpool Road to the same degree that they normally do," said Karla Nicholson,executive director of the Quinpool Road Business Association.

Bridges at two other south-end streets Belmont on the Arm and Marlborough Wood are also being repaired.