Border Road: Major Construction Starting in August of this Year

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The Windsor Essex Parkway is one step closer to construction.

Officials from the Ministry of Transportation, the Windsor Essex Mobility Group and project managers for the W.E. Parkway met with residents and community leaders, Wednesday night at the Ciociaro Club.

Major construction on the W.E. Parkway is set to begin this August.

Here is a rundown of projects that will begin soon:

Grand Marais Drain Crossing

Conceptual renderings courtesy of the W.E. Parkway Team

The Grand Marais Drain (Turkey Creek) is a major water feature that runs across the route of the W.E. Parkway, construction will start this year on the culvert and infrastructure on which the Parkway will cross.

Howard Avenue Diversion & Roundabout

Conceptual renderings courtesy of the W.E. Parkway Team

Howard Avenue leading into Windsor will eventually be replaced by a new four lane road and roundabout connection. W.E. Parkway spokesperson Cindy Prince says the old route will be maintained and open to traffic while the new road (pictured) is constructed. The new road will connect Highway 3, and the 401 with Howard. A carpool lot will be constructed nearby.

Construction of Four Tunnels & Four Bridges

Conceptual renderings courtesy of the W.E. Parkway Team

Construction of four tunnels and four bridges will begin by the end of 2011.  A W.E. Parkway spokesperson explained that lighting in the tunnels will “mimic the lighting conditions outside” so there isn’t eye strain when entering or exiting the Parkway’s 11 tunnels.

Bridges:

• Cabana and Huron Church
• West of St. Clair College
• West of Howard Avenue
• New North Talbot Bridge over the 401 (old to be demolished in August)

Tunnels:

• Parkway at Labelle Street
• Parkway at Huron Church Line
• Parkway Immediately West of Howard
• Parkway Immediately East of Cousineau

Excavation of the Parkway

Work will begin this fall to move 3.9 million cubic meters of soil from the site (enough to fill Toronto’s Rogers Centre 2.5 times).

Construction of Wick Drains

Wick drains are vertical tubes inserted along the Parkway to assist in the settling of soil, silt and clay.  Work will begin this fall.

Highway 401 Widening

Highway 401 where it enters the Parkway area will be widened from four lanes to six lanes to coincide with the six-lane 401 between Windsor and Chatham.

Drainage Systems

Construction will begin this fall on a number of drainage systems including temporary storm water ponds and drainage systems to accommodate construction of the Parkway.

Demolitions

The Parkway project requires the demolition of 182 more buildings along the project route.  These structures will be removed over the next three months.

Project spokesperson Cindy Prince indicated that the project will have employed 12,000 people over the course of construction and the estimated spinoff is pegged at 120,000 jobs (materials prep, service industry, etc).

Four lanes of traffic (two in each direction) will be maintained on the existing Highway 3 and along Huron Church for the duration of the project.  Construction of key project elements will however introduce noisy “piledriving”, which will be restricted to between the hours of 7am and 7pm.

The Windsor Essex Mobility Group’s Liaison Office is now open on Huron Church.  Complaints and/or inquiries can be directed to Liaison Officer Trevor McFadyen at 1-877-WE-PKWAY.

For more information on the W.E. Parkway Project, visit weparkway.ca.