Even though much York Region Transit and Viva service wasn’t operating during the recent labour disruption, York Region contractors have continued building the new vivaNext rapidway — bus-only lanes — along Highway 7 in Markham and Richmond Hill.

To accommodate the next phase of construction at Highway 7 and Bayview Avenue, eastbound Viva buses are now serving a new temporary Bayview vivastation at the southwest corner of High Tech Road and Bayview Avenue.

Eastbound buses serving the Viva purple and Viva pink routes now operate along High Tech Road, instead of Highway 7, between the Richmond Hill Centre Terminal and Bayview Avenue. The buses likely will continue to detour along High Tech until early 2013.

Eastbound buses serving the 1 Highway 7 route, which regularly operate along High Tech Road, also drop off and pick up passengers at the new temporary Bayview vivastation.

For passengers transferring to westbound Viva buses from buses operating along the 91 Bayview route, York Region contractors recently completed a new walkway connecting the east side of Bayview Avenue south of High Tech Road to Highway 7, just beside the westbound Bayview vivastation.