County Road 42 bridge fixed but road improvements still coming

A local arterial road in the county is reopened for traffic but roadwork nearby is still required.

The bridge connects County Road 42 between West Puce River Road and East Puce Road

The Puce River Bridge Rehabilitation project started on Aug. 12 as part of a $12 million set of projects the County of Essex planned for 2019.

The project was initially approved early in December 2018. The County of Essex had slated the bridge to reopen on Nov. 15 putting the project completion two weeks behind their intended schedule.

Front Construction Industries, a Windsor-based bridge and concrete rehabilitation contractor was awarded the $816,000 contract to replace girders, deck and barrier protection along with other repairs.

The project had originally diverted traffic to the 401 and County Road 22 which led to annoyances with residents of the Belle River and Emeryville communities when September road work on County Road 22 caused the detour route to be reduced to one lane.

The bridge completion is not the end for the planned improvements and repair to County Road 42. The 10 kilometre stretch between Banwell Road and County Road 25, which includes the reopened bridge, is the focus of a roughly $50 million plan by the County of Essex. The plan is to widen the road to five lanes, including one turn lane. Bike lanes and mixed-use trails are also planned to be included as part of the County Wide Active Transportation System.

An open house is planned for the expansion on Dec. 11 at the County’s West Pike Depot at 11965 County Road 42 from 2 p.m until 7 p.m.