WINDSOR, Ont. — Construction to widen Highway 401 to Canad’as biggest border crossing has kicked off.

Construction is now beginning to improve Highway 401 in Essex County on a 13-kilometre stretch from Puce Road to Manning Road. Work on this second phase includes: Widening from four to six lanes; building a concrete median barrier to prevent head on collisions; improving both the Manning Road and Puce Road interchanges to handle more traffic and further enhance safety.

The $47-million contract was awarded to Coco Paving Incorporated of Windsor. Completion is expected by fall 2006.

This is the second in a series of five projects involving reconstruction and widening of Highway 401 between Windsor and Tilbury. The first project to widen Highway 401 from Highway 77 to Essex Road 42 has been underway since spring 2004 and is expected to be complete by this fall.

This project is funded by the governments of Canada and Ontario under the Strategic Highway Infrastructure Program (SHIP). Under the SHIP agreement, the two governments are providing joint funding of $336 million for highway improvement projects across Ontario.

The funding for this project comes on top of the April 21st commitment by the governments of Canada and Ontario to provide $129 million in funding under the Let’s Get Windsor-Essex Moving Strategy to improve the movement of goods and people at the Windsor-Detroit Gateway.