Traffic nightmare in Thorold averted
Work on tunnel, Highway 406 and Beaverdams Road had all been scheduled for the same time
Thorold Mayor Terry Ugulini had a stark warning to Niagara Region’s public works committee meeting Tuesday — and some good news by Thursday morning.
Roadwork threatened to create a traffic nightmare in the rough triangle formed by the Thorold Tunnel, Highway 406 and Beaverdams Road.
The tunnel is closed in both directions for ongoing refurbishing, part of the 406 is reduced to two lanes for construction and Beaverdams Road is the scene of undergoing roadwork.
“Once the tunnel opens, it will be a big relief,” Ugulini said. “They were supposed to start paving on Beaverdams Road on Tuesday. The problem is people get off on Collier Road when the tunnel is closed and take Beaverdams Road to Highway 406 and then Highway 20 to the Falls. Having Beaverdams Road closed when the tunnel is closed is a nightmare. Especially when parts of the Highway 406 are down to one lane as they do the bridges.”
An estimated 24,300 vehicles use the tunnel on a typical day. The road connections through it form one of the main routes to and from Niagara Falls for Niagara residents.
Ugulini said once the lines of communication opened, it didn’t take the City of Thorold, the Region, the Ministry of Transportation and St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp. to find a solution. The roadwork on Beaverdams will be paused until one of the tunnel tubes reopens on Monday.
“When we work together we can solve the issues. The problem is everybody is so busy with their own projects, things fall through the cracks, but it shouldn’t get to that point.”
He said drivers divert to Beaverdams Road via the Collier
Road exit and take that route back to Highway 406 and eventually Highway 20, which leads to Niagara Falls.
The construction on Highway 406 is part of an ongoing $29- million project to rehabilitate 10 bridges on the thoroughfare. Temporary lanes are built that shift traffic to the opposite side of the divided highway, which reduces traffic flow to one lane in each direction. The project began in 2017. The work on the Thorold tunnel complex is an $18-million project that began in 2018 and will end in 2021 in time for the Canada Summer Games. Workers are repairing deteriorated concrete, sealing joints and cracks, and maintaining pavement drainage. Major electrical work such as lighting, electrical controls, building electrical services is also underway.