Closure of Sudbury's Maley extension at Frood Road begins next week

Many people in Greater Sudbury will have to change their driving habits for the next few months.

Starting on Tuesday, the Maley Drive extension will be closed for the summer at the corner of Frood Road and Lasalle Boulevard. The closure is expected to last until Sept. 1.

Transit routes will not be affected and buses will be exempt from the closure.

City spokesperson Kelli Sheppard said in an email that there will be a detour in place for all other traffic.

“Drivers travelling north on Frood Road are advised to use Kathleen Street to Notre Dame,” Sheppard said.

“Drivers travelling from the west on MR35 are advised to use Elm Street. One lane in each direction along Lasalle Boulevard will remain open and traffic signals will be in place for traffic travelling east/west along Lasalle … at the intersection of Frood Road north, which will remain open at all times during construction.”

Crews will be putting in a roundabout aimed at eliminating congestion at the intersection, removing a bottleneck that becomes particularly severe during rush hour traffic.

All work on the project by the city's contractor, Teranorth Construction & Engineering Ltd., is expected to be completed by November.

Installation of the two-lane roundabout will complete Phase 1 of the Maley extension.

Once the south portion is constructed, and the intersection is opened, traffic will be routed to the south portion of the roundabout. The intersection will still be controlled by traffic signals while the north sections of the roundabout are constructed.

Work will typically take place during daylight hours, Monday to Friday, the city said. Existing traffic lights will be removed and new ones installed.

First opened in November 2019, city staff predicted Maley would ease traffic on Lasalle and The Kingsway, as well as divert heavy trucks away from city thoroughfares.

While studying Maley’s impact has been difficult because the pandemic affected traffic counts in 2020 and 2021, a staff report found that between 2019 and 2022, vehicle traffic was reduced by more than 30 per cent on Lasalle Boulevard, or about 6,000 vehicles a day.

Heavy truck traffic was reduced by more than 60 per cent at Attlee Avenue and more than 75 per cent at Auger Avenue.

A full report headed to city council July 10 will have more in-depth information on the impact of the Maley Drive extension, an update on the work completed and information about future phases of the project.

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