Council hoping for expedited concrete barrier construction

After an update concerning several Ministry of Transportation projects planned for Highway 401, Chatham-Kent councilors approved a motion asking for expedited concrete barrier construction.

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Municipal staff presented the report during Monday’s meeting outlining various improvements slated for construction in the coming years, including the Bloomfield Road interchange, as well as resurfacing the highway itself.

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Chatham Coun. Alysson Storey entered a successful motion asking the municipality to send a letter to the ministry concerning the barrier construction, as well as to seek as an updated timeline.

“The issue of 401 improvement and safety upgrades has been a priority of mine for many years now,” said Storey, who was also involved in raising awareness on the issue before being elected to council.

“One of the reasons why this update shows the progress that it has is mainly the temporary cable barriers, and the concrete median barrier construction that has begun.”

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High-voltage cable barriers were completed in 2020. Storey said these concrete barriers between Windsor and Merlin, as well as London eastward have been proven effective in preventing fatal crossover collisions.

She added they also protect first responders and tow truck drivers attending crash scenes.

The upcoming letter will be circulated to neighboring municipalities, emergency services, AMO, ROMA and Good Roads.

Storey credited previous councils going back to 2017 for their “unwavering and consistent support,” as well as municipal and ministry staff, OPP, and concerned members of the public.

“It’s not a role I think any of us would have chosen, but it is something we can be proud of,” she said.

The ministry is currently undertaking a multi-year construction project to widen and improve approximately 118 km of the highway.

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According to a staff report, the Bloomfield interchange project will involve a “significant reconfiguration of the interchange to provide safety and capacity improvements.”

Construction will require a full closure of Bloomfield Road for a lengthy period, since it involves replacing two bridges (over Highway 401 and Jeannette’s Creek) and building up the embankments to increase the bridge height over the highway.

The ministry has stated that dates and durations of the closures will be identified during the design phase. Construction would start in 2025, with completion in 2026 or 2027.

“Given the type of work that they’re doing, most likely, the closure of Bloomfield itself would be a year,” said Edward Soldo, Chatham-Kent’s general manager of infrastructure and engineering.

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“This is a very complex interchange. They’re actually raising the road itself. So, that is what made them consider closing the road. They had originally looked at a parallel roadway, or parallel bridge, being built at the same time. That’s almost impossible to do when you’re actually raising the grade.”

Soldo said the municipality will stress to the ministry that “the shorter, the better” is preferable for any closure.

Staff will also continue to work with the ministry on the specifications of the detour routes as they are finalized.

“Regardless of official detour routes, it is anticipated that the closure of Bloomfield Road will cause traffic to divert onto various roads in the vicinity, particularly other roads that cross Highway 401 between the Queen’s Line interchange and the Highway 40/Communication Road interchange,” the report added.

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