The roundabout where Rapids Parkway would intersect with Quinn Drive is one of the few remaining pieces to complete the extension of Rapids Parkway to Exmouth Street, a project the city’s been eyeing since the 1990s.
If the weather stays fair, Sarnia’s newest roundabout could open next month, the city’s construction manager says.
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“If we get the line painting and landscaping done, the signs done — we have a little bit more work on some fencing to be done — and we should be in a position to open the roundabout sometime in early December,” said Rob Williams.
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The roundabout where Rapids Parkway would intersect with Quinn Drive is one of the few remaining pieces to complete the extension of Rapids Parkway to Exmouth Street, a project the city’s been eyeing since the 1990s.
But even without the full extension complete — a project in concert with Ministry of Transportation 402 rehabilitation work is planned to start in 2024 — the roundabout will ease congestion on Quinn Drive and Lambton Mall Road, Williams said.
The $3-million Van Bree Drainage and Bulldozing contract that started in the summer and, Williams said, is so far under budget, also included closures on Exmouth Street, letting workers connect storm sewers for the extension, and repair nearly 600 meters of a 12 -inch, rotted sanitary force main.
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“We had some congestion on London Road and we appreciate everyone’s patience with the detour,” Williams said.
Exmouth Street was also lowered about 50 centimeters (20 inches) for better sight lines at the new intersection, where a traffic signal now guards Howard Watson Nature Trail users as they cross, he said.
The trail itself also has been shifted west, up until nearly the 402 overpass, and replaced with a 3.5-meter wide paved path, he said.
A small section of roadwork remains, along with grading work, underneath the overpass, that the Ministry of Transportation is going to complete — with city funding — after planned bridge overpass rehabilitation work scheduled for 2024, Williams said.
There’s $2.9 million in the city’s 2024 draft budget for that final phase, though it might wait until 2025, depending on how long overpass work takes, Williams said.
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Construction this year, meanwhile, took a little longer than expected, he said.
“Working with all of the pedestrians actually was one of our biggest challenges,” he said.
At first, plans were to close Exmouth entirely for the work, between Lambton Mall Road and what’s now Rapids Parkway, but with no obvious way around for pedestrians and a pretty significant volume, workers tackled the north half first, then the south, so a sidewalk could stay open, he said.
There were detours off the trail at Quinn Drive, and signs warning trail users approaching from the south, he said.
“It went OK because we did keep that sidewalk open for an extended period of time,” Williams said about the sign strategy.
“But the last week, we had multiple trail users who had to turn back.”
Some unexpected grading changes between properties also added to the delay, he said
The results so far are nice to see, he said, noting he’s looking forward to the roundabout opening.
“Just hopefully the weather holds off for another week,” as it’s needed for line painting and landscaping, he said.
Previous phases of the project have included $3.5 million in water and sewer work in 2021 and a $2.2-million contract to extend Rapids Parkway south to the overpass in 2022.
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