A major construction project on a busy Windsor road is on track.
Work continues on Howard Avenue and Division Road from the E.C. Row Expressway to the Roundhouse Centre/Devonshire Mall intersection and the Union Square Plaza intersection. As part of the work, a new rail crossing will be constructed on Sydney Avenue.
The railway crossing on Howard between Division and South Cameron Boulevard will be permanently closed to traffic into the fall.
Traffic was a problem along South Cameron Boulevard and Howard Avenue before the city even began the work. Division Road and Sydney Avenue are being transformed to improve traffic flow in the area.
The rail crossing at Howard is completely cut off but northbound traffic on Howard Avenue can turn freely onto South Cameron. Despite no traffic coming from the rail side, drivers still need to stop.
City engineer Patrick Musyka says the stop sign will disappear when work begins on the median next month.
"A portion of South Cameron at the Howard intersection will be reconstructed, and essentially, South Cameron will just bend up to Sydney, and it will completely change the configuration of that intersection. It will no longer be a three-way intersection, it'll just be a curve."
He says the new railway grade crossing at Sydney Avenue is being worked on.
"The new grade crossing should be constructed within the next month or so and then commissioning of the railway crossing probably in September or October, just due to the interconnection between the traffic signals and the CN Railway crossing."
Musyka says Division Road has been widened with a long lead up to the turn onto Sydney Avenue to help account for rail backups.
"Additionally we provided more storage leading up to the train tracks so it'll be four lanes wide to provide that room for vehicles to queue up if there's a train."
Musyka adds that there will also be improvements and linked multi-use trails starting along South Cameron through to Sydney Avenue to enhance active transportation.
The city said the $18-million reconstruction project in the Howard corridor should be done sometime in November, in time for the holiday shopping season.
-with files from CTV Windsor's Bob Bellacicco