Improved detour signage to help alleviate Windsor business concerns
It’s hoped that improved roadway signage in the coming weeks will assist motorists travelling along Windsor Highway 101 near find their way to downtown shops.
Susan Mader Zinck, a communications officer with the Nova Scotia Department of Public Works, confirmed that the province is aware of concerns about the existing detour and are working to address them.
The eastbound Exit 6 offramp closed to traffic on March 14.
At West Hants Regional Municipality’s council meeting on April 26, councillors voted to have staff write a letter to Hants West MLA Melissa Sheehy-Richard as well as Kim Masland, Nova Scotia’s Public Works minister, expressing concern over the closure of Exit 6’s eastbound off-ramp. The letter will also be “encouraging a review and use of Exit 7 as the primary access route for traffic coming into downtown Windsor” and using Exit 5A as the back-up, alternate route for anybody who misses the initial access route via Exit 7.
Councillors were concerned that the anticipated 18-month closure of Exit 6’s eastbound off-ramp could have “drastic effects on the Windsor business merchants.”
Earlier in April, Adrienne Wood, the Windsor Township Business Association president, indicated she had heard from business owners concerned with the detour
bypassing the downtown core and had spoken with provincial and municipal representatives. Windsor businessman Mark Wainman also wrote a letter to council and the local MLA to share his concerns. He noted that after a two-year pandemic, this exit closure would further impact businesses and would last for two summers — the peak time for tourists to visit.
Both wanted to see better wayfinding signage that would direct motorists to leave the highway at Falmouth instead of travelling past downtown Windsor and circling back.
Zinck indicated in an email that the Department of Public Works “is working on installing signage to minimize the impact.”
Zinck said the current detour
notifies eastbound motorists as they approach Exit 6, which “allows motorists to be made aware of the closure, process the change in route, and direct them back to the location they want to access. Multiple detour routes can create confusion for motorists.”
DETOUR FOR ‘SIMPLICITY’S SAKE’
At a two-hour Highway 101 Community Liaison Committee (CLC) meeting in April, members were provided with an update on the construction progress of the Three Mile Plains to Falmouth twinning project. During that meeting, the detour for Exit 6 was raised.
Jim Ivey, a West Hants Regional Municipality councillor,
asked if the Falmouth exit was going to remain operational for the next 20 months.
“The Exit 7 ramp is pretty well stabilized,” said Lyle Russell, a Department of Public Works project engineer on the Highway 101 twinning project. Russell fielded several questions about the detour.
“Right now, there’s no plan to have both off ramps in the eastbound direction closed,” Russell said.
Ivey said the quickest way into Windsor would be to take Exit 7 and travel through Falmouth along Highway 1 instead of travelling to Exit 5A and looping back, like the detour currently requires.
Liz Galbraith, a former Windsor councillor and CLC member, also inquired about directing traffic to take Exit 7, or at least making them aware that’s an option.
“The more advance notice that people have, and the more options people have, the less frustrated they’re going to be,” said Galbraith.
Russell said he would consult with the provincial traffic authority regarding signage, but also explained the rationale behind why the detour is set up the way it is.
“One of the things that when the department looks at a detour route, they have to look at a general driver behaviour,” said Russell.
By having the detour after the primary exit, Russell said they’re catching the motorists who didn’t realize they wanted to take the closed exit. He said it’s less confusing for drivers.
“Typically, we try to assign the next exit after the closed exit as the detour route just for simplicity’s sake,” he said.
“Anyone familiar with the Windsor area, especially coming from the Valley, will know to probably jump off at Exit 7.”
SCOPE OF WORK
It’s estimated the Exit 6 eastbound detour will be in effect for at least 18 months as construction crews are replacing the underpass structure and the Upper Water Street rail line structure.
“The ramp is being excavated and replaced with granular materials to raise the grade to accommodate the twinning of Highway 101,” Zinck said.
“The municipality’s wastewater system in this area is being relocated to accommodate the new underpass structure. Retaining walls are being constructed on both sides of the off-ramp.”
She said there are no plans to close the westbound offramp at Exit 6. Only eastbound traffic will be affected.