Finally some concrete plans from the provincial government to increase safety measures along that very dangerous stretch of the 401 from Chatham-Kent to London.
Build the Barrier is a grassroots advocacy group formed in September 2017, calling for concrete median barriers on 117 kilometres of Highway 401 between London and Tilbury.
Spokesperson Alysson Storey says they are cautiously optimistic.
“This is the most detailed information we have received this year,” stated Alysson Storey, founder of the grassroots advocacy group Build the Barrier. “A specific cost and a company selected to start construction is definitely a good sign that this project is finally about to move forward, once and for all.”
Storey says they will be watching closely and won’t stop their fight until there is a barrier for the entire 117 km stretch.
According to Build the Barrier collision logs, in the last two years alone there have been at least two fatalities and at least ten major collisions in the 10.4 kilometres between Tilbury and Merlin Road in Chatham-Kent.
“Of the whole 117 kilometres that needs a barrier, that stretch is actually the worse in terms of cross-overs,” Storey says. “But we need to have that full 117 kilometres built and protected because that whole stretch is very dangerous.”
Kathleen Reed lost her husband Gary to a cross-over collision on the 401 two years ago.
“I’m extremely happy and I’m so glad that now people are going to be a lot safer on that road once we get that concrete median barrier in,” Reed says. “I’m just overjoyed that it’s finally (being) done.”
The nearly $68-million dollar contract has been awarded to Coco Paving with work expected to begin before the end of the year.
