Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) has confirmed that the Alexandra Bridge—one of two primary crossings linking Ottawa, Ontario and Gatineau, Quebec—will be fully closed to vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians on six evenings beginning 29 July 2026. The shutdowns, running from 19:30 to 22:30 local time, accommodate pyrotechnic safety zones for the Les Grands Feux du Casino Lac-Leamy international fireworks festival. While the bridge is only 595 metres long, it funnels more than 25,000 vehicles and thousands of cyclists across the Ottawa River daily. The closures overlap with peak tourism season and a busy federal-government travel period, meaning delays are likely on the neighbouring Chaudière and Portage bridges and the Confederation Line’s inter-provincial bus shuttles. PSPC is posting detour signage and has alerted ride-share platforms and charter-coach operators to adjust routing in real time. For cross-border commuters employed by federal agencies, embassies and multinational firms straddling the National Capital Region, the advice is to allow extra time or shift to tele-work on event days. Logistics firms servicing downtown offices have been asked to reschedule deliveries outside closure hours. Travellers heading to Ottawa International Airport should note that taxi and shuttle ride times from Gatineau could double during the 20:30–22:00 window. The festival runs through mid-August, and PSPC warns that additional unscheduled closures may be triggered by weather postponements. Stakeholders are encouraged to follow PSPC’s X (Twitter) feed and the municipal traffic-camera network for live updates. The Alexandra Bridge itself is slated for a full replacement beginning in 2028; lessons from this traffic-management exercise will feed into that long-term mobility plan. In the short term, however, the message for business travellers, diplomats and conference organisers is clear: build buffer time into evening itineraries or use the Macdonald-Cartier Bridge, which offers higher capacity but is itself under lane-restriction for resurfacing this summer.
