Last piece of Cty Rd 50 reconstruction to begin late spring, last 15 months

New Tecumseth Free Press Online

The next and final phase of the multi-million dollar County Road 50 reconstruction will focus on a 3.3 km stretch ringing the intersections at 10 Sideroad and Cty Rd 14, and cost an estimated $9.6 million.

Work includes widening of the roadway, replacement of large deep cross culverts, intersection improvements at the 10th Sideroad / County Road 14 and the addition of passing lanes.

“This final phase …. provides for many construction and engineering challenges given the topography of the area,” according to Chris Doherty, Engineering Technician’s report to County council on next week’s agenda. “In some of the large valleys, the new road will be raised by as much as two metres, while some of the hills will be cut down by approximately three metres in order to meet current engineering design standards. There are also two large deep culverts that need to be replaced and are located approximately five to seven metres below the existing roadway.” Its taken two years to design, and the project is expected to tender in April.

The other key issue is the flow of traffic during construction. While two options are presented, Mr. Doherty is recommending temporary road closures with an estimated construction duration of 15 months, estimated to save about $1 million versus building/maintaining two temporary active lanes.

“In order to minimize the disruption to the local area traffic, the County would provide appropriate detour routes and the requirement to reopen County Road 50 to two lanes in July during the 2015 Pan-Am games,” writes Mr. Doherty. “In the proposed Stage 1 closure, County Road 50 and County Road 14 will be closed north of 10th Sideroad for a length of 1.3 kilometres. This closure will be limited to six weeks in duration. In the proposed Stage 2 closure, County Road 50 south of the 10th Sideroad wil be closed for a length of 2.0 kilometres. This closure will be limited to eight weeks in duration. During both Stage 1 and Stage 2, access for emergency services to affected residences and local traffic will be maintained.”