A major road construction project got underway in Barrie today.
It's been in the works for more than five years, and while it's going to make a difference to an important interchange, there are going to be slowdowns for thousands of drivers. At Duckworth and Cundles, the signs are going up and the heavy equipment will soon be at work.
“One of the first steps we had to take was actually figure out what type of road system we needed to accommodate today’s traffic, and the traffic we projected for 2031,” says Leonard Borgdorff, senior project engineer for the east end construction work.
This intersection is a stone's throw from Highway 400, Georgian College, the Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre, and a couple of new housing developments.
The city says about 35,000 vehicles use these streets every day and that volume is expected to increase dramatically.
“We have Duckworth Street going underneath, and Cundles Road going underneath, and this going as far as Livingston Street over here,” Borgdorff says.
To help alleviate all the congestion around here, both Cundles and Duckworth will be widened over the next three years. Duckworth will expand to seven lanes under Highway 400, and the bridge above will be replaced. Cundles will be widened to five lanes.
Bike lanes and sidewalks will be added too.
“The barrels are out, the construction-ahead signs are out, and we will be starting construction along here within the next week or so,” says Sally Baldwin-Colquhoin with Fermar Construction
The problem is, all of the construction that's set to happen here will slow things down for a lot of drivers. During construction, both Duckworth and Cundles will be reduced to just one lane in each direction.
To deal with the delays in the area, RVH has put an emergency plan in place.
“We've been working very closely with the City of Barrie and the County of Simcoe to ensure that ambulances and other emergency vehicles are not delayed by the construction,” says Suzanne Legue at the hospital. “We don't anticipate any problems with that.”
The hospital has been assured traffic will always be flowing in the area.
All of the constructions signs should be up by the end of the week, and the delays in the area will likely start. The $42-million project is expected to wrap up by November 2016.
