Background:
A Connecting Link is defined as a road that connects two ends of a provincial highway through a community or to a border crossing. In 1973, Huron Church Rd between Highway #3 and the Ambassador Bridge was identified as a Connecting Link by the Province of Ontario. Huron Church Rd is the only Connecting Link in the City of Windsor and the limits are from just North of the Industrial Dr/ Northwood St intersection to the Ambassador Bridge. The MTO runs a Connecting Links Program that funds the construction and repair of roads and bridges on connecting links. The program funding is for up to 90 percent of total eligible project costs. The maximum amount of funding for eligible costs is $3 million per project. Funding is provided for the design, construction, renewal, rehabilitation and replacement of connecting link infrastructure.
The City has been submitting projects to the MTO for consideration in the Connecting Links Program since the start of the program in 2015. The City was notified in early 2019 that our 2018 application had been approved and we were awarded the maximum grant value of $3 million for the reconstruction of approximately 630m of Huron Church Rd from Malden Rd to Pool Ave.
Discussion:
The City of Windsor is undertaking the reconstruction of Huron Church Rd from Malden Rd to Pool Ave. This section of Huron Church Rd see in excess of 60,000 vehicles per day including over 10,000 trucks per day going to and coming from the Ambassador Bridge which is the busiest international commercial border crossing in Canada. This section of roadway has significantly deteriorated due to the heavy volumes of traffic and annual freeze-thaw cycles and requires full reconstruction. The intent of this project is to replace the existing composite pavement with a new concrete pavement to improve the long term durability of the roadway.
The project consists of the following components:
- Demolition and removal of existing asphalt over concrete road, concrete sidewalks and concrete median.
- Construction of new concrete pavement, sidewalks and median islands.
- Drainage improvements.
- Installation of new conduit for fibre optic cable from Malden Rd to the Industrial Rd / Northwood St intersection.
- Rehabilitation/renewal of streetlight infrastructure.
- Removal of overhead sign and support bases.
Construction activities will be carried out 7 days a week and 24 hours a day to the extent that the construction operations will allow and be required.
Access to businesses will remain open throughout the construction works.
The properties fronting on the section of Huron Church Rd to be reconstructed are primarily commercial which would render this area exempt as per the Noise By-law