Sussex Drive

Sussex Drive (French: Promenade Sussex), also known as Ottawa Regional Road 93, is an arterial road in Ottawa, Ontario, the capital of Canada. It is one of the city's main ceremonial and institutional routes. Travelling roughly parallel to the Ottawa River, Sussex Drive begins as a continuation of Sir George-Étienne Cartier Parkway at Rideau Gate, at the entrance to Rideau Hall. It travels south to Rideau Street, with the portion south of St. Patrick Street forming the northbound half of a one-way pair with Mackenzie Avenue. Both Mackenzie Avenue and Sussex Drive connect with Colonel By Drive at their southern end, which continues south alongside the Rideau Canal.

Sussex Drive was laid out as three separately named streets during the establishment of Ottawa in the first half of the 19th century: Sussex Street, between Bolton Street and Rideau Street; Metcalfe Street, between Bolton Street and the Rideau River; and Ottawa Street between the river and Rockcliffe Park. The latter two were renamed as an extension of Sussex Street following Ottawa's annexation of New Edinburgh in 1886. Numerous government institutions were established along Sussex in the early 20th century, and embassies were established following World War II. As a result of the Greber Plan, the road was widened and rebuilt and the buildings along it refurbished throughout the 1950s and 1960s. It was renamed Sussex Drive in November 1953 during a visit by the Queen Mother.

Known as Canada's ceremonial road, Sussex Drive is a boulevard through the ByWard Market, Lower Town and New Edinburgh neighbourhoods of Ottawa. A number of landmarks, embassies and institutions line the road, many of which are designated National Historical Sites. In addition, a number of parks and monuments are located throughout the length of the route, several of which overlook the Ottawa River. The entire route forms a portion of Confederation Boulevard, a ceremonial route around Ottawa and Gatineau used by foreign dignitaries and during royal visits to Canada. The City of Ottawa, which has jurisdiction over the entire route, classifies Sussex Drive as an urban arterial road throughout its length.

Sussex Drive begins at a traffic circle adjacent to Rockcliffe Park, through which the roadway continues as Sir George-Étienne Cartier Parkway. Adjacent to the traffic circle are Rideau Hall at 1 Sussex Drive, home to the Governor General, the Prime Minister's residence at 24 Sussex Drive directly opposite Rideau Hall, and the High Commission of South Africa. Sussex Drive proceeds south-southwest, parallel to the southern shoreline of the Ottawa River, as a two-lane road with a central raised median or turn lane. The Embassy of France and the Centre for Geography and Exploration bookend the portion of the route through New Edinburgh.

Widening to four lanes as it crosses the first of the ByTown Bridges over the Rideau River, Sussex Drive passes above Rideau Falls onto Green Island. There the John G. Diefenbaker Building, former Ottawa City Hall, is complemented by the Ottawa Memorial, Mackenzie–Papineau Monument, the National Artillery Monument, and a statue of John McCrae. Crossing the second bridge, the road returns to the mainland in the Lower Town neighbourhood and intersects the northern end of King Edward Avenue, which provides access to Quebec Autoroute 5 in Gatineau via the Macdonald-Cartier Bridge. Surrounding this intersection are the National Research of Canada (NRC) Laboratories as well as the Lester B. Pearson Building, which is home to Global Affairs Canada. The former residence of John A. Macdonald, Earnscliffe, is preserved at 140 Sussex Drive, adjacent to the NRC Labs.

Crossing over the southern end of the Macdonald-Cartier Bridge, Sussex Drive passes the Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat and the Embassy of Saudi Arabia. It gradually curves south-southeast around the Embassy of Japan before straightening out and travelling between the Royal Canadian Mint and Élisabeth Bruyère Hospital, the first hospital in Ottawa, situated at 43 Bruyère Street. The Global Centre for Pluralism, which opened in the former Canadian War Museum in 2017, and the Embassy of Kuwait immediately follow the previous two buildings on either side of the road. Approaching the ByWard Market, the route passes the Canada School of Public Service at La Salle Academy and the Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica to the east and the National Gallery of Canada to the west, which features a Maman sculpture in front of the entrance.

At the Alexandra Bridge approach, Sussex Drive becomes a northbound one-way arterial road paired with Mackenzie Avenue, which serves southbound traffic. St. Patrick Street and Murray Street, also a one-way pair, provide access to and from the bridge. The four roads combined encircle the Peacekeeping Monument, while Major's Hill Park lies to the southwest of this junction. Entering the ByTown Market along its western edge, Sussex Drive features wall-to-wall storefronts with apartments above them on the east side and the Embassy of the United States on the west side. The Former Geological Survey of Canada Building and Connaught Building sandwich the road at George Street. Sussex Street ends at Rideau Street, where it and Mackenzie Avenue connect with Colonel By Drive south along the eastern bank of the Rideau Canal. The Rideau Centre stands on the southeast corner of the intersection, while the former Union Station which was repurposed into the Senate of Canada Building is on the southwest corner. The Daly Building once stood between Sussex and Mackenzie on the north side of Rideau Street, but was demolished in the early 1990s and replaced by a residential condominium in 2005.

Sussex Drive is named after Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex (1773–1843), son of King George III, and an early abolitionist. It was known as Sussex Street until 1953, when it was renamed during a visit by the Queen Mother. Originally it was the primary road in Ottawa, serving to connect the former Union Station (now the Senate of Canada Building) with the Queen's Wharf at the foot of the Rideau Canal. The street continued as Metcalfe Street to New Edinburgh, becoming Ottawa Street at the Nepean–Gloucester boundary along the Rideau River and ending at Rockcliffe Park. Sussex Street was built on land acquired by Colonel John By (1779–1836), whom laid out Upper and Lower Bytown, and by Thomas McKay (1792–1855), whom built the locks where the Rideau Canal meets the Ottawa River. McKay gradually purchased over 1,000 acres (400 ha) of land and established New Edinburgh in 1832. New Edinburgh was incorporated as a village on August 15, 1866, and annexed by the City of Ottawa in 1886. As a result of this, Metcalfe Street and Ottawa Street were renamed as part of Sussex Street.