The final push is on to complete work on the Victoria Park/Stampede LRT Station.

Starting at 2 a.m. on Saturday, May 18 and running through Tuesday, May 21 at 4 a.m., that station will be closed as major construction work is completed ahead of the opening of the BMO Centre in June.

Emma Stevens, Director of Communications and External Relations with CMLC said that the work required the station to be closed because of the need to cut power as construction is completed.

“As we near the finish line on this project, some of the stuff happening this weekend is we’re advancing work on the station canopy and oculus, which is the interesting lighting fixture in the centre of the [station] canopy,” she said.

“We are progressing some concrete work on the pedestrian ramps, doing some track work, updating some switches, and then advancing work on the track crossing at 17 Ave, which will ultimately enable the future opening of that new extension across Macleod Trail.

Stevens said the closure of the Victoria Park/Stampede Station was necessary because of how small the site is for construction work.

“It’s a pretty constrained construction site between the BMO Centre and Macleod Trail, so we’re able to use this weekend to use as much of that space as possible to get as much of the work done as possible,” she said.

“The plan has always been to have the station operational for the opening of the BMO Center expansion—and it is after we completed the switch late last year, the station is operational. So now we’re just putting the finishing touches on the track, the station itself, and preparing to open that 17 Avenue extension.”

She said that the work being done over the long weekend will coincide with other LRT station closures from Calgary Transit along the Red and Blue lines.

Calgary Transit will close all of the LRT stations from Sunnyside to 39 Avenue on the Red Line, and from Sunalta to Bridgeland/Memorial on the Blue Line, including all of the 7 Avenue downtown Stations from May 18 through 21 for maintenance.

Shuttle bus service is set to be provided by Calgary Transit to replace CTrain access, and will travel westbound along 6 Avenue and eastbound along 9 Avenue.

CMLC said that additional pedestrian and vehicle detours would be required for construction in the Culture and Entertainment district throughout the summer.

Starting on May 13, the 14 Avenue SE pedestrian crossing at Macleod Trail will be closed as part of the Victoria Park/Stampede Station project, with pedestrian access available at 17 Avenue SE and 12 Avenue SE.

Ongoing closures of Stampede Trail between 14 Avenue SE and Agriculture Trail SE will continue through June as work continues on the Stampede Trail redevelopment.

For more details on closures and detours of routes, see www.cedistrict.com/access-map.