Allanport Road closes for upgrades
A section of Allanport Road will be temporarily closed to through traffic until Sept. 1.
From Aug. 21 to 28, the road will be closed so workers can repair the Canadian National Railway crossing at the intersection of Barron Road and Allanport Road, also known as Regional Road 82.
The closure extends to Regional Road 20 on the north and Turner Road on the south, says Ron Tripp, Niagara Region’s commissioner of public works.
The railway crossing repair will be followed by the resurfacing of Allanport Road, with paving crews closing the road temporarily on a block-by-block basis from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, from Aug. 28 to Sept. 1, weather permitting.
The detour routes for the closures are as follows: Regional Road 20 to Thorold Townline Road to Chippawa Creek Road.
Another slight change is also taking place on Allanburg’s roadways.
According to a report from Niagara Region’s public works committee, an average of 10,000 vehicles a day travel the rural two-lane section of road by the Allanburg Bridge. In efforts to prevent potential accidents, the Region’s public works committee approved a speed limit reduction on Regional Road 20 from Allanport Road to 545 metres west of Allanport Road,
The posted speed limit immediately west of this section of Regional Road 20 (Lundy’s Lane) approaching the Allanburg Bridge is 50 km/h while the posted limit immediately east of this section easterly from Allanport Road is 80 km/h.
The transition from 80 km/h down to 50 km/h takes place approximately halfway through a steep curve approaching the bridge, where lineups are commonplace when the bridge is raised, often extending well into the section signed at 60 km/h, which is “unusually short,” at a mere 454 metres, says the report.
With vehicles stopped and waiting for the bridge, the space allowing for the transition from 80 km/h when travelling from the east to the slower speeds and then a full stop was considered insufficient.
Region workers will also extend the existing guide rail on the west side of the road.