A Chatham councillor is calling on the province to expedite the construction of concrete barriers on Highway 401 from Tilbury to London.
Chatham-Kent Council voted unanimously (17-0) to support Ward 6 councillor Alysson Storey's motion at Monday night's council meeting to send the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) a letter asking for a quicker completion and set timelines for the completion of the barriers.
The MTO recently updated the municipality about Highway 401 construction projects including the installation of concrete barriers on the 401, but provided no timeline for future phases of the project.
The concrete barriers between Essex Road 42 and Merlin Road are mostly complete, but the timeline for Phase 2 construction of the concrete barriers from Union Road to Wellington Road has yet to be determined, the MTO told CK staff. The timing for Phase 3 of the concrete barriers between Merlin Road and Union Road is also undetermined.
MTO staff noted that due to the length of Phase 3, it will likely be divided into sub-phases and constructed over multiple years.
Storey said the cement barriers can't be installed soon enough.
"When all of this is complete, we will all finally have a safe and up to date 401 like the rest of the province and lives will be saved," said Storey.
Ward 3 councillor John Wright, who owns a local towing company, agreed saying the concrete barriers will make a big difference based on what he's seen.
"I've recovered over 150 cars out of the cables now and we're at almost 50 semi trucks going into it. We've only had one crossover and that was at a turn around for the emergency services. So, the cables are working, they're doing their job. It's important to have a cement barrier out there before it [the 401] opens. The cables, when they hit, they don't drive away," Wright said.
Chatham-Kent's Fire Chief Chris Case appreciated the motion to keep everyone safer, including emergency workers.
"It has to be said that the 401 is an incredibly dangerous place to work and we have seen an increase in some of the incidents that we've been attending. The firefighters are extremely grateful for this work that's taking place. We appreciate the support," said Chief Case.