Travel through a busy downtown Toronto intersection came grinding to a halt on Monday morning, and will remain shut down until the weekend for drivers and cyclists.

The intersection of Bay Street and Adelaide Street West closed to vehicle and cycle traffic at 7 a.m. on Monday to accommodate a TTC streetcar track installation project. The closure will be in place until Saturday, December 16, adding another bottleneck to the often-gridlocked Financial District.

Restricted access at the intersection is just the latest in a series of rolling closures to permit the installation of a streetcar diversion route that will bypass construction of the Ontario Line through the heart of the city.

That closure has already shuttered access to vehicles along Queen Street from Bay to Yonge streets and Yonge to Victoria streets, forcing the construction of a temporary route running parallel on Adelaide between York and Church streets.

The City acknowledges that its "various construction projects taking place in the downtown core" will have traffic impacts, and advises motorists to plan ahead and consider alternative forms of travel like public transit, cycling or walking.

Motorists and cyclists are advised to take alternate routes on Wellington, Front or Dundas, though should take special care to avoid King Street, with the City cautioning that the Transit Priority Corridor makes this a poor alternative.

In hopes of keeping Toronto moving through the interruptions, City staff will be on hand to monitor and provide traffic agents when necessary.

Once the closure is clear, the City plans to reopen lanes of traffic between York and Yonge as work continues on track installation, noting that intermittent closures will still be required for paving and lane markings.