A Queensway on-ramp behind the Westgate Shopping Centre will permanently close Monday, according to Ontario's Ministry of Transportation.
The closure of the on-ramp to the eastbound Highway 417 from Carling Avenue is part of a provincial project to widen the highway between Maitland Avenue and Island Park Drive.
Once the on-ramp closes, the roughtly 3,900 drivers who take the ramp daily will be re-routed. Eastbound drivers will instead have to use the ramp at Carling Avenue and Kirkwood Avenue.
The province said it's closing the "low volume" ramp because of plans to both add a fourth lane to the highway and give the other eastbound ramp a proper run-up to merge with traffic.
Some community groups, however, are concerned about the closure because of major developments set to take place nearby.
In a press release, the Civic Hospital Neighbourhood Association said that they were protesting the closure "in light of the expected increase in demand for eastbound 417 access routes from the soon-to-be-expanded Westgate and the new Civic campus."
The Ottawa Hospital is planning to eventually open a new Civic campus on the northeast corner of the Central Experimental Farm, while a high-rise tower could be part of the plans for the Westgate Shopping Centre, Ottawa's oldest mall.
The province says it will work with the City of Ottawa to manage traffic issues, which may result from the closure.
There are no other permanent ramp closures expected during the expansion.
