Windsor's mayor would like the Ontario government to take responsibility for the E.C. Row Expressway.
Drew Dilkens is making the call as the city gets set to begin Phase 2 of a $10-million project to reconstruct the eastbound lanes of the expressway from Dominion Boulevard to Dougall Avenue.
In 1997, the provincial government downloaded responsibility for the expressway to the City of Windsor, which must handle all repairs and maintenance.
Dilkens says it's an important expressway for Windsor residents, but it's also a vital roadway that links our partners in Tecumseh, LaSalle and Lakeshore.
"It is a major roadway that connects the entire region together yet the burden of this construction, the cost of this construction, falls entirely on the backs of Windsor residents," he says.
Dilkens says around 75,000 vehicles use the expressway at peak times and the data shows the drivers are coming from all over to get around the region.
"Something ought to happen, it would be the right thing to do," he says. "Certainly we would press on our provincial colleagues, and the candidates seeking election on June 2, to try and press this issue on behalf of Windsor residents, to say that we need to have equity in the system on a roadway this important."
The E.C. Row Expressway stretches 15.4-kilometres across the City of Windsor, running between the Ojibway Parkway in the west to Banwell Road in the east.
E.C. Row Expressway near Dominion Boulevard in Windsor. April 6, 2022 (Photo by Rusty Thomson)
Dilkens says it's an expensive roadway to maintain.
"It plays a part in our economic success as a region, which is why we have said this really ought to be a regional road or a provincial road, where the costs are distributed more equitably to all those who use it," he adds.
Work on the eastbound lanes of the expressway will begin April 11 and will involve the removal of four layers of the original roadway, including the cracked pavement, concrete, stone and subbase. It will then be filled and topped with new asphalt.
The expressway will have lane restrictions in both directions between Huron Church Road and Howard Avenue. The work is expected to last approximately 16 weeks for road reconstruction, with an expected completion date of July 26.
Work was finalized on the westbound lanes of the roadway in October of 2020.
The total project is the biggest investment by Windsor City Council toward reconstruction of the E.C. Row Expressway since the City took ownership from the Ontario Ministry of Transportation in 1997.