Council grants noise exemption for work on Highway 401

CAMBRIDGE — Cambridge council has given the green light to the Ontario Ministry of Transportation to work around the clock on the next phase on construction on Highway 401 through the city.

At Tuesday’s general committee meeting, councillors approved an exemption to the noise bylaw for the reconstruction and widening of the highway.

The exemption will kick in July 1 and extend to Nov. 30, 2022. According to a city report, the noise exemption will help to reduce construction time and avoid a significant disruption of highway traffic.

A major piece of this phase of the project will be the replacement of the Hespeler Road bridge. Preliminary work on the bridge’s replacement began last fall and work will continue on the first half of the bridge this summer.

The MTO plans to widen the span of the Hespeler Road bridge to cross 10 lanes of traffic. During construction, the bridge will remain open in both directions. However, the number of lanes available will be reduced. Highway 401 will be closed when the first half of the bridge is demolished and new girders for the replacement bridge are installed.

MTO officials say work will take place in stages and will involve taking down and replacing one section of the bridge at a time.

Like the new Franklin Boulevard bridge, the eastern side of the new Hespeler Road bridge will have a three metre wide multi-use walkway for pedestrians and cyclists.

As work is completed on the first half of the bridge, construction will switch to the other half, which will be demolished and replaced.

Work on the bridge is slated to take two years to complete.

For this phase of the 401 widening, work will be concentrated on a section of the highway from just west of Hespeler Road to east of Townline Road.

It will involve the creation of: high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes; reconstruction of the Highway 401 interchanges at Franklin Boulevard and Hespeler Road; replacement of the Hespeler Road bridge; installation of retaining walls as needed; and expansion of the commuter parking lot at the Townline Road interchange.

Drainage improvements, illumination, overhead signs and traffic signals will also be installed.

RAY MARTIN CAMBRIDGE TIMES The City of Cambridge has granted the Ministry of Transportation a noise exemption so it can move forward with the replacement of the Hespeler Road bridge and the widening of Highway 401 through Townline Road.