County Road 42 Roundabout Project Wins Award

County of Essex photo

A major road project in the county has won an award.

Good Roads has recognized the construction of a two-lane concrete roundabout connecting County Road 42 and County Road 43 for setting a high standard for workmanship, aesthetics and innovation while meeting all specifications and tight construction deadlines.

The County of Essex and contractor Green Infrastructure Partners (GIP) were selected from a record number of applicants for the Good Roads’ 2024 Municipal Concrete Award. The annual award recognizes successful municipal-private sector collaborations in concrete road construction in Ontario. Eligible projects involve the construction or maintenance of paving, bridges, culverts, flatwork, sidewalks or curbs.

“We are grateful for the cooperation of Essex County residents, businesses and local municipalities, who will benefit from the major improvements being made to this regional road,” said Essex County CAO Sandra Zwiers. She also lauded the county’s Infrastructure and Planning Services staff for exemplary work in moving the project forward.

The two-lane concrete roundabout was part of Phase 2 of the reconstruction of County Road 42 in Tecumseh, which also included the realignment of County Road 43 from County Road 42 to the border with the City of Windsor.

A small section of County Road 42 was fully closed to traffic when construction commenced in mid-June last year. Four to six crews at a time worked on the project to minimize the impact on residents and businesses. The roundabout opened to traffic in mid-October.

Concrete was chosen as the material for the roundabout because of its durability in Essex County’s climate, which is characterized by temperature fluctuations and freezing and thawing in the winter. Four main types of concrete were used and just under 15,000 square metres of concrete were poured over the course of the construction.

“I am proud of the County of Essex team that helped ensure this project was completed on budget and ahead of schedule,” said Allan Botham, Director, Infrastructure and Planning Services. “We are grateful to GIP for meeting all of our specifications and working with us to expand and improve the County Road 42 corridor.”

Good Roads, formed in 1894 as the Ontario Good Roads Association, is a municipal association concerned with the quality and design of roads. It has 428 municipal and 21 First Nations members.