Road construction will affect traffic in central Helsinki throughout summer

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Extensive road construction and repair work will try the nerves of motorists and pedestrians in different parts of the centre of Helsinki this summer.
      Some of the projects are already under way, while others will begin in late June. The repairs are scheduled for completion by the end of the year.
     
Most of the road construction projects in the centre of the city stem from the laying of new tracks for the trams of Helsinki City Transport. Changes in the routing of tram number 3 will cause work in Kamppi, Kluuvi, and Töölö. Tram line 9, which is scheduled to start operations at the end of the summer, will require street work in Kallio, Alppila, and Vallila.
      Helsinki Energy has two extensive district cooling projects in the centre.
      In spite of the extensive excavation of the streets, the amount will not be significantly greater than in recent years.
      “There has been brisk construction in the past couple of years. The effects may be slightly greater than last year from the point of view of traffic”, says Mikko Aro, spokesman of the Public Works Department.
     
“The next massive upheaval will be the placing of tram tracks in Simonkatu and Mikonkatu in the summer”, said Deputy Mayor Pekka Sauri.
      The street and track work at the intersection of Simonkatu, Kaivokatu, and Mannerheimintie will be the most disruptive of all of the summer’s projects.
      The work will extend from Midsummer to the end of July. The worst phase is in the first week of July, when lanes of Mannerheimintie are closed and traffic arrangements changed.
     
Sauri is satisfied that people know the purpose of the road works. “Apparently, the information that we have given out has somehow gone through”, he notes.
      “Control has improved in road repair, and schedules are holding up better than before, but it is not necessarily visible to the naked eye, as there is so much work going on”, Sauri notes.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  City of Helsinki Public Works Department

Helsingin Sanomat