Highway 401 to detour through downtown Brockville, Ont. this weekend

BROCKVILLE -

The removal of an overpass west of Brockville will impact traffic this weekend, as parts of Highway 401 will be closed for two consecutive nights.

The bridge set to be demolished is on Hallecks Road, and traffic will be detoured through downtown Brockville for 12 hours each night. 

Construction is already underway at the site as crews prepare for the demolition. 

"This has been at least two years in the making," said Elizabethtown-Kitley Township Mayor Brant Burrow. "I'm sure for the MTO, it's been longer than that."

Burrow says this will be the largest construction project in the township's history, expected to take up to eight months.

"We started to get involved a couple of years ago and very detailed discussions right up until even a month ago, as to what time of day are we going to see the structure close, the 401 close, that type of thing," Burrow said. "It's quite a process and education."

"This is one of the original bridges on the 401, or what was then the Trans-Canada Highway construction," he noted. "It's time. There's no way you can rehabilitate this, so they've got to widen the bridge and now is the time to do it."

Burrow said Hallecks Road is one of the 10 busiest roads in the township, and its closure, which began at the beginning of April, affects 11 per cent of homes in the township. 

Starting Friday evening, the westbound lanes of the 401, and one eastbound lane will be closed, to remove the north section of the bridge.

On Saturday, the opposite will happen, with the eastbound lanes closed, and one lane of the westbound side, to remove the other half.

A detour will be in place both nights from 10 p.m. to 10 a.m., using the Emergency Detour Route (EDR), from Long Beach to North Augusta Road, which goes right through downtown Brockville.

"(We're) asking for that patience from everyone just to get through the weekend as easily as possible," said Brockville Police Staff Sgt. Darryl Boyd.

Brockville police, along with public works, will be closing all streets that cross King Street, except for Court House Avenue.

"We're going to reduce access downtown around 3 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, overnight parking on King Street is going to be prohibited," Boyd noted. "Starting at 10 p.m., no cars are going to be allowed on King Street We have to keep those lanes open and room for emergency services in the event something does take place."

"For local traffic, if you live down there or you have to get down there, then Court House Avenue is the best way," he said.

Traffic lights along King Street and North Augusta Road will also be flashing yellow and red so the detoured traffic can flow easier.

"Doing them west one night, east the next night, just provides a little more space in the event something does go wrong that emergency services need access," Boyd said. 

Ben Mullen, who lives downtown along King Street, is expecting it to be noisier than usual after he learned about the detour a week ago. 

"Those of us who live right on King are going to hear trucks, engine breaks all night," he said. "I thought, at least we know it's coming and it's done by the MTO. They tend to do that kind of stuff really well."

He said most residents understand the EDR is used often in situations like this.

"I'm not going to be able to sleep because I live right on King St., but my kid sleeps pretty sound and my wife sleeps pretty sound so I'll be tired," he said. "If they are syncing the lights, it's really not going to be a problem."

While there are other rural roads that bypass the closure, they cannot handle transports, and Burrow says they will be monitored.

"Don't try it because we've got people posted at all the major points that we need to, to make sure we need to follow the directed route," he said. 

"Just be patient, follow the signs, follow the directions that the flag people are giving and everybody's going to arrive at the destination safely if we all cooperate," Burrow added.

If problems arise with the bridge demolition over the weekend the alternate dates for removal will be April 28 and 29.

Construction crews working at the Halleck's Road site. (Nate Vandermeer/CTV News Ottawa)

"I really want to thank people in advance for their patience, I want to thank the community for supporting this. I know that it's an inconvenience but after the fact, it's going to be so much better," Burrow said. 

In February, Elizabethtown-Kitley firefighters went door to door to residents living south of the 401, to notify them of the increased emergency response time with the Hallecks Rd. closure. 

Fire Chief Andy Guilboard says another door-to-door campaign will begin in late May, to alert seasonal residents of the situation.