Last week’s Counties Council meeting saw an important next step for one local intersection. Construction of the roundabout at County Roads 43 and 22 has been awarded to Thomas Cavanagh Construction. Counties Council approved the company’s bid at the regularly scheduled Counties Council meeting on February 23.
Construction on the roundabout is expected to begin in the spring, and it will move fast. The contract states that construction must be completed by September 29, 2023.
The winning bid from Thomas Cavanagh Construction was for an approximate cost of $2.9 million. Bill Guy, the Manager of Engineering and Operations for the Counties, confirmed that traffic disruptions will be minimal during the construction process. “Our intent is to maintain traffic in both directions on County Road 43 at all times,” he said. “To do so, we have developed an elaborate construction staging plan. The staging, however will not be paved. Motorists will be driving on gravel through the construction zone until portions are completed and can be paved.”
Calls have been made for years for safety upgrades at the intersection, which sees frequent collisions. Last year, the speed limit for a radius of a few kilometres around the intersection was reduced to 60 km/h, down from 80 km/h. “The United Counties is looking forward to seeing the completion of this intersection improvement project,” added Bill. “A lot of time and resources went into this project and with great anticipation we look forward to the results of that effort.” Warden Nancy Peckford also noted that the roundabout is a much-needed improvement to the high-collision intersection.
