There is a multi-million dollar construction project planned for Essex County Road 42 through the town of Tecumseh, but there is concern a wider road will mean new problems.
14,000 vehicles travel along County Road 42 every day, making it the second busiest corridor in the County, and the director of Infrastructure Services says it no longer meets their traffic needs.
“42 is right at capacity, If not, exceeding it in peak hours,” says Tom Bateman.
To improve traffic flow, a 3.5 kilometre stretch of County Road 42 will undergo a total reconstruction. It will be 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 Road and Banwell Road intersections.
“We are confident in roundabouts capabilities to meet the traffic needs to improve safety of intersections,” says Bateman.
Resident Janine Aurora is concerned a wider road will not make things better. In fact, Aurora is concerned about her granddaughter crossing five lines to catch a school buse.
“There's going to be more accidents, more traffic,” says Aurora.
But the project is going ahead. Essex County Council has approved a $1-million contract with Dillon Consulting to establish a detailed design For tender.
A section of County Road 43 will also be included in upgrades, but the projects are still a long way off.
The estimated cost is $36-million with construction scheduled to begin in 2021 or 2022.
Not far from the area is the site of the proposed new mega hospital.
But Windsor Regional Hospital CEO David Musyj says the planning for this road project was done long before the hospital site was selected.
