Border officials discuss 401 extension to new bridge; options include Huron Church bypass
WINDSOR, Ont. — Provincial and federal government officials announced that a new Hwy. 401 extension will cut through the City of Windsor to a new border crossing location.
According to the Toronto Star, public hearings begin today in Windsor on the long-awaited crossing that is expected to relieve truck traffic congestion in the overwhelmed border town.
Last week, border officials said the new bridge site has been narrowed to an area north of Zug Island near River Rouge that runs 2.5 km to the current Ambassador Bridge. The crossing could be open by 2013.
Currently, Hwy. 401 ends 11 km away from the current crossing, the Ambassador Bridge. Truck and car traffic spills onto residential roads, especially Huron Church Rd., en route to the river crossing,
Traffic expert and engineer Sam Schwartz, who was hired by the City of Windsor last year to come up with a plan for a new crossing and arterial bypass of Huron Church, said the highway design was a critical “mistake” when it was designed 50 years ago. “This situation is really unprecedented in my experience and my travels,” he said.
The binational Detroit River International Crossing Partnership says the new access road through Windsor will be a six-lane freeway, extending Highway 401 to the new plaza and river crossing, and will separate local from international traffic, the Star reports.
One of the options resembles Schwartz’s suggestion to lead trucks from the current 401 to a “horseshoe” bypass route parallel to Huron Church — perhaps Talbot Rd. There trucks would be separated from residential property and traffic by utilizing “context sensitive design” — a depressed (and tunneled in parts) road that would split the existing north and southbound Talbot Rd. traffic.
Other options for the highway extension, reports The Star, include a tunnel below a rebuilt Huron Church/Highway 3; or a road at grade, either parallel to Huron Church Rd./Highway 3 or with one-way service roads on either side.
— with files from the Toronto Star
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