Already underway, construction season kicks into high gear in a very visible way next week, cutting off the main corridor between Elmira and points south.
Commuters will be required to take a different route between Elmira and St. Jacobs next week. After years of disrepair the region will be closing Arthur Street between Listowel Road and Sawmill Road for work being done by CN Rail at the railway crossing. The work will be done on April 24-28.
The work will include removing of the existing crossing, installation of a new crossing with concrete panels, and additional road work adjacent to the crossing.
Arthur Street can be accessed from the north down to the railway crossing, and from the south up to the railway crossing, but not through the region stated in a release
Although Arthur Street sees heavy traffic as a main road between Woolwich and Waterloo, the technical nature of the work requires full closure of the crossing, said Darryl Spencer, manager of transportation engineering with the region.
“Part of the work involves the replacement of the railroad with a one-piece engineered section of track, and for that reason, the full crossing needs to be closed. There is also fairly extensive pavement work at and adjacent to the crossing that is required and the,” Spencer said.
Commuters will need to find alternative routes such as Church Street Line 86 to Northfield Drive to Sawmill Road. As staff is aware of there will be increase traffic along the alternative routes they will be making signal timing changes at critical intersections to better accommodate the extra traffic volumes, Spencer said.
While many drivers choose to use the shoulder of the road while crossing the track that will no longer be required, Spencer noted. The cost to the region is minimal he added.
“The majority of the costs are covered through the region’s freight maintenance agreement with CN Rail. Outside of this, the region is only paying for the roadway detour costs, which is around $1,500.”
The region is also looking to leverage the opportunity to conduct some roadway asphalt work immediately adjacent to the crossing, Spencer said. While the cost not been confirmed yet, it is included in the region’s approved transportation capital program.
