Province in no rush to widen busy route
The provincial government has told Essex County leaders in writing that it will not widen Highway 3 soon, despite a string of accidents on the troubled roadway, including two just minutes apart on Wednesday.
County politicians are frustrated that the long-held dream of making Highway 3 safer was dashed for the time being by a recent letter from the provincial Ministry of Transportation.
The letter dated May 4, 2018, from Neil Zohorsky, director of the ministry ’s west region, was sent to Essex County mayors. Zohorsky said the government is still committed to widening Highway 3 from two lanes to four, but gave no time frame for when that might happen.
Speaking on behalf of Transportation Minister Kathryn McGarry, Zohorsky said improvements on Highway 3 between Essex Road 34 and Highway 77 — a two-lane stretch — would begin between 2019 and 2021. The repaving, however, would be far less than what the community has hoped for over the years.
“This work would include resurfacing the highway and does not include widening the highway,” states Zohorsky’s letter, which was discussed at the Town of Essex council meeting Tuesday night. “Well, jeepers, what are they waiting for?” Town of Essex Mayor Ron McDermott asked a Windsor Star reporter Wednesday. “The need is there now. Don’t wait till we get hundreds more acres of greenhouses in the next two or three years. Do it before all the extra transports go down there every day.
“I can’t believe they’re putting this off.”
The transportation ministry letter says traffic growth on Highway 3 has generally been less than two per cent per year over the last decade, that traffic is lower than projected, and that “the overall collision rate for Highway 3 remains below the provincial average.” Essex County Warden Tom Bain said the letter marked the first time the government confirmed that Highway 3 will not expand in the near future.
“That’s the first time we got a definite no from them,” Bain said. “That’s why it’s a huge disappointment.”
Despite coming up short so far on the widening of Highway 3, Bain said he and other county leaders will not give up.
“What we’re going to do now is wait till after the provincial election,” he said. “And then we’re going to pursue it again. Once the new government is formed, we’re going to be back in Toronto knocking on doors.”
Two separate collisions that shut down Highway 3 near Cottam within minutes of each other Wednesday morning reinforced the point.
Both crashes happened around 8 a.m. on Highway 3 between Belle River Road West (County Road 27) and Division Road (County Road 29).
OPP said the first incident involved two vehicles at the intersection of Highway 3 and Division Road. No one was hurt.
The second incident occurred just minutes later on Highway 3 about a half a kilometre west of the initial collision.
Five vehicles were involved. One driver suffered serious injuries and was rushed to hospital for treatment. Another driver received minor injuries.
OPP blocked off part of Highway 3 between Cottam and Leamington to allow emergency personnel and technical collision specialists to deal with the scene. “Today ’s accidents are just more proof of the point we’re trying to make,” Bain said. “Highway 3 is so dangerous. And there’s going to be increased traffic on it, with the increase in the greenhouse industry
and the agricultural industry.” Rob Maisonville, chief administrative officer for Essex County, said collision numbers are bad enough, but that the types of accidents also must be considered. About 60 per cent of Highway 3 accidents are deemed critical, he said.
“Accidents happen everywhere,” Maisonville said. “But the nature of the accidents we have on Highway 3 is a function of speed, the volume of traffic, and the types of traffic. We have a lot of transports and commuters — and it’s only getting worse with the growth of the greenhouse industry and agribusiness.
“So we’re getting more and more traffic using Highway 3.”