Final stages of Windsor’s $45M Cabana Road project nearing completion

Reconstruction work along one of Windsor's major arterial roads is nearing completion — but final touches, including surface asphalt paving, are still ongoing as the city prepares to finish the $45 million Cabana Road project.

In a news conference on Tuesday, Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens celebrated the completion of road reconstruction on Cabana Road between Highway 3 and Provincial Road.

Some of the work includes widening the road from one lane on each side to two, adding painted bike lanes, installing planted greenery, and replacing sidewalks.

"This vital east-west transportation corridor in South Windsor will provide a direct link with a new acute care hospital as well as new employment and residential development off County Road 42," Dilkens said.

"It's something we started back in 2015 and we knew it was going to take the better part of eight years to see completed. Today, we're celebrating the completion of the project that was approved by city council," said Dilkens.

According to the city, the work — totaling $45 million — was done over four phases:

• Phase 1 between Provincial Road and Howard Avenue from 2017 to 2018 at a cost of $7 million.
• Phase 2 between Howard Avenue and Dougall Avenue from 2019 to 2020 at a cost of $5 million.
• Phase 3 between Dougall Avenue and Dominion Boulevard from 2021 to 2022 at a cost of $14.5 million
• Phase 4 between Dominion Boulevard and Highway 3 from 2023 to 2024 at a cost of $18.5 million.

According to the city, the focus will now shift to Phase 5 where Cabana turns into Division Road, between Provincial and Walker Roads.

Ahead of that, property acquisition and utility relocation is planned for sometime this year.

Dilkens added that the city has already acquired a motel on Division Road near the Devonwood Conservation Area, to make room for the reconstruction — tentatively scheduled to begin during the 2025 construction season pending budget approval.

"We don't own all the land. We need to get the land that we need and then make sure that all the service providers who put their infrastructure adjacent and underneath the road are budgeted and working in tandem with us," the mayor said.

"We expect the cost would be upwards of $25 million to be able to complete the segment from Provincial to Walker Road but it's the next part of the growth of the city."

Despite Windsor's mayor touting the completion of reconstruction along Cabana Road, a construction notice posted to the city's website shows surface asphalt paving between Highway 3 and Dominion Road will take place throughout the month of August.

During Tuesday's announcement, Dilkens said that further reconstruction work is not likely to include traffic calming measures such as speed bumps, radar signs or bollards — similar to those installed in front of Roseland Public School on Cabana Road.

"When you build arterial roads, you don't want to put calming measures that slow traffic down. It's meant to help move the traffic," said Dilkens.

After reconstruction work along Division Road has completed, similar work is expected to be done further east where Division Road turns into County Road 42, the site of Windsor's acute care hospital.

"We know the hospital is coming. We have to continue the road project to get people to that hospital in a safe way," said Dilkens.