King Street in Uptown Waterloo to re-open Wednesday night

After nearly a year ofLRT construction and detours, drivers will finally be able to pass through King St. in Uptown Waterloo this Wednesday night.

"It won't probably open during the day, however, it will open before midnight Wednesday," said Patti Brooks, executive director of the UpTown Waterloo Business Improvement Area.

"GrandLinq is working feverishly on getting it ready so that it can open on Nov30 as asked by us and promised by them."

In Uptown Waterloo, the section of King St.from Union St.to Erb St.has been closed since early February, which made navigating around construction confusing for many drivers.

It also had a significant impact onlocal business. Now that King St.is opening again, Brooks says "businesses are delighted."

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Thursday morning, drivers, pedestrians and cyclists will notice that the sidewalk is wider and that the LRT track will run in the middle of King St. from Union St.to Allen St. From Allen St., the tracks shift to run on the side of the road.

"There will be parking implications once the trainruns on the side of the road," Brooks said.

But, that's not to say that there won't be anymore construction.

GrandLinq still has to install the proper overhead wiring to power the trains andwork on the tracks. Brookshowever, says that King St.will remain open.

To celebrate the long awaited opening of King St., Uptown Waterloo will have the Festival Of Living Streets on Dec.3 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.