Windsor city councillors will be asked to approve a report related to some upcoming night time construction work at their regular meeting this morning.
The Public Works Department is requesting a noise by-law exemption for a duration of time that will cover work along the EC Row Expressway from Banwell Road to Lauzon Parkway in order to allow construction during night time hours.
The work would impact Wards 7, 8 and 9.
Administration is asking for the Noise By-Law Exemption to start on May 6 and continue through to August 2.
Construction activities for this project, if approved, would see the work carried out five nights a week between the hours of 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. per night to the extent that the construction operations will allow.
The report states the expected start date is largely dependant on the tendering process, but the dates given would see it start on May 6 with an expected completion of June 10.
The Public Works Department is seeking the exemption to minimize the potential safety hazards during construction to the traveling public, minimize the total duration of construction, and also minimize impact on daily travel in the construction zone.
Ward 8 councillor Gary Kaschak says they know it's going to inconvenience residents for a little bit, but it's such an important area for Windsor.
"It's just a five week period where they want to bang this construction out, and it's going to be a much needed improvement for the east end residents. So I hate to see night time noise but I really want this project done. We've seen this around the city, on Huron Church recently and a couple other places, and it's really work that's needed to be done," he said.
Kaschak says the work will take place during the week, not weekends, for the duration of the project which is taking place during a generally good time for construction due to the weather.
"Sometimes we're even surprised that these get done a little bit quicker even than the time frame allocated. The residents in the area have had some pain recently with the EV battery NextStar plant making a little bit of noise, but that's ended. So hopefully a four to five week noise exemption here is going to be palatable for residents, but certainly we at the city want to see this happen."
The section of EC Row Expressway where work is going to be carried out is significantly deteriorated due to the heavy volumes of traffic and the annual freeze-thaw cycles, which requires pavement reconstruction.
Kaschak says that'll include mill and pave work, where they'll scrape the road down and then put some new pavement down on top.
"It's a process that happens quite often in the city, the mill and paves, and this happens fast. It's not a total road reconstruction where they've got to get down and tie in water mains and sewers and what not. This is a good mill and pave, the residents who use the road are going to experience much better driving conditions down the road," he said.
Kaschak says this is one of those situations where it's short term pain for long term gain, and he's expecting council will view it that way and approve the report.
Council meets at 10 a.m. at City Hall.