The next phase of the massive East London Link project is about to shake up commutes across the city, with construction set to begin on Oxford Street in just days.
If you regularly travel along Oxford Street east of Highbury Avenue, prepare for a major disruption to your routine. The City of London has announced that Phase 4 of the East London Link construction is scheduled to kick off in late March, with preparatory work already starting this week.
According to the City’s website, the first stage of construction is expected to begin around March 31 on the south side of Oxford Street from the eastern limit of the project to Roehampton Avenue. This massive undertaking will continue through both 2025 and 2026, meaning residents and businesses in the area should brace for nearly two years of construction zones, lane reductions, and turning restrictions.
For those curious about what’s to come and how it might affect their daily commute, the City hosted a virtual information session on Wednesday, March 19. While that session has already passed, residents can still get informed by checking out the presentation on the East London Link project page.
This construction is part of a much larger multi-year project that will eventually revitalize more than 6 km of road from Downtown all the way to Fanshawe College. The ambitious plan includes not just surface improvements for transportation and transit, but also replacement of aging underground infrastructure like sewers and watermains.
What might catch some businesses and residents off guard is the addition of a centre-median throughout the corridor. The City notes that this design feature means left-turning movements will be restricted to signalized intersections only, while driveways and unsignalized side streets will be limited to right-in/right-out access. The change may require local businesses to alter their delivery routes and access points.
The East London Link isn’t just a local initiative—it’s received funding commitments from both the federal and provincial governments to support 10 transit and transit-supportive projects across the city.
This latest phase follows other ongoing construction that’s already transforming several areas of East London. Phase 3A West is currently active on Dundas Street between Egerton Street and McCormick Boulevard, with work expected to continue until approximately December 2024 (with some overflow into 2025). Meanwhile, Phase 3C has been underway since February along Highbury Avenue North between Oxford Street and the Highbury Avenue overpass.
If you want to stay up-to-date on the project’s progress, the City invites residents to sign up for email updates or visit the East London Link project page regularly for the latest information.