A major reconstruction of County Rd. 42 is in the works.
The project will see the road widened from two to five lanes from the city of Windsor limits to the Pike Creek Bridge. Roundabouts will also be installed at the Manning Rd. and Banwell Rd. intersections.
Essex County Council has approved a $1-million contract with Dillon Consulting to provide a detailed design to go out to tender.
A map showing the area included in a reconstruction of County Rd 42 (Photo courtesy of the County of Essex)
Director of Infrastructure Services, Tom Bateman, says the road doesn't meet traffic needs in the area anymore. "That stretch of County Rd. 42 coming out of the city or going back into the city is probably our second busiest corridor. Looking at County Rd. 22 as being our busiest, 42 is right at capacity, if not exceeding it in the peak hour."
"We're confident in the roundabout's capabilities to meet the traffic needs to improve the safety of the intersections," says Bateman. "So one of our very busiest intersections in our county network will be converted into a roundabout, that being County Rd. 19."
Bateman notes that roundabouts are working well elsewhere in the county. "We've been very successful in deploying roundabouts in the county. We've taken a position that before we'll signalize an intersection now, that we consider a roundabout first. So we have to actually defeat the intent of a roundabout or find that it's not feasible before we'll signalize."
A section of County Rd. 43 will also be included in the upgrades as well.
Bateman says the entire project is expected to cost $36-million with construction likely to begin in 2021 or 2022.