Lane closures begin today on one of Victoria's busiest arteries.
BC Hydro crews will be working on a one-block span of Douglas between Topaz Avenue to Burnside Road beginning Monday, January 12.
The critical infrastructure upgrades will replace a corroded underground transmission cable installed in 1980.
While work is underway, there will be no left turns onto Burnside Road for northbound Douglas Street traffic.
For the first week or two, there will be no access to Topaz Avenue from Douglas Street.
The work cannot be carried out at night for crew safety and the extent of open excavation.
The new 230-kilovolt oil-free insulated cable will run more than 2-km beneath streets in Victoria and Esquimalt, with a portion crossing under the Gorge Waterway.
The work is expected to take about 5 weeks to complete.