Calgary's Red Line disruption to begin Friday evening

Drivers on Macleod Trail will be seeing lane closures earlier in the day, but by 8 p.m., the LRT between Chinook and City Hall/Bow Valley College stations will be closed for nine days.

Drivers and commuters were warned about it for weeks but the time has finally come for a massive disruption to transit services in Calgary's downtown core.

Work changing over the tracks of the Red Line is scheduled to begin Friday at 8 p.m.

That means over the next nine days, workers will be shifting the rail lines from the old stations to the new ones between Chinook and City Hall/Bow Valley College stations.

Traffic on Macleod Trail between 25 and 12 Avenue S.E. will also be affected by the work, but drivers could see those in place much earlier in the day.

CTrain riders will be able to get past the closure for the entire duration of the project with shuttle buses.

Free temporary parking has also been set up in several locations to accommodate drivers who need to park their vehicles and get on transit.

City officials are reminding everyone who regularly uses these routes to be aware of their options and plan accordingly.

The work is expected to be wrapped up by 4 a.m. on Dec. 4.