County Road 42 roundabout construction to kick off Monday, with more city construction to come

The pylons are out on County Road 42 and county officials are warning drivers to pack their patience.

“I get it. I don't like to be inconvenienced either,” said County Warden Hilda MacDonald. “But we have a time where you can do roadwork and there's times when you can't. This is the time and we need to capitalize on it.”

The County of Essex is spending $22 million to realign Banwell Road and build a roundabout in Tecumseh.

On June 17, County Road 42 at Banwell Road (City Road 43) will be closed, with local access only for residents and businesses for a period of three months.

“But if you do go to that area, be patient and just respect the workers that are in the area,” said Allan Botham, the director of Infrastructure and Planning Services for the County of Essex.

MacDonald said the work is a necessity driven by economic development at the NextStar Battery Plant and the future hospital.

“We're perched on the edge of tremendous growth,” she said. “We need to get ahead of the game. We know this is coming down the road and we need to have efficient traffic routes into the city and back into the county.”

An overview of the phasing of the project and the tentative timing for each phase. Yellow dots are Phase 1, green is Phase 2, red is Phase 3. purple is Phase 4 and blue is Phase 5. (Source: County of Essex)

Snarled traffic for roadway improvements won’t be limited to just the county, and it won’t be just this summer.

“We're not going to see an end to this over the next five to 10 years. You're probably going to have a hard time getting east west through the city,” said Stacey McGuire, the executive director of Engineering at the City of Windsor.

McGuire said the city is spending $56 million on roads and $60 million more on sewers in 2024.

Work on Jefferson Boulevard is already underway, as well as milling and paving on E.C. Row.

Work will soon begin to create a shifted replacement intersection at Howard Avenue and Sydney Avenue to replace the existing network of roads, which are a major source of frustration and collisions.

“You're not even going to recognize that intersection when it's done,” McGuire quipped.

Work will also begin this year on a section of Lauzon Road near Cantelon Drive, Ojibway Parkway between Broadway Street and Sprucewood Avenue and extensive streetscaping on University Avenue, which will take two years to complete.

“That's going to be one of our first cycle tracks in the city. Really exciting project and that one will be starting where we're getting ready to put the tender out very soon,” she said.

The city’s construction works along County Road 42 will ramp up next year, and according to McGuire, will last for quite some time.

“This isn't going to be the typical Windsor where you can get everywhere in 15 minutes for the next little bit,” she said.