Construction on a critical stretch or road to the Windsor-Detroit border is now underway.

Crews from Pierascenzi Construction Ltd. moved onto site at Huron Church Road in Windsor to begin work on a three-month project. The scope of work will see the team install new curbs, medians and sidewalks, replace the existing watermain and services, improve street lighting, and install new traffic signal infrastructure.

The work will span a 700-metre stretch between Malden Road and Poole Avenue.

The first stage of the work will see work completed on the northbound side of the road. Traffic will be diverted to the southbound lanes. Construction switches to the southbound lanes after approximately 50 days, when work on the northbound lanes is complete. The crews have been given allowance to work seven days a week and for 24 hours a day, should the project require. Construction is typically expected to last 12 hours per day.

The project is valued at $4.8 million. The City of Windsor has received a grant of $3 million through the Connecting Links grant program maintained by the Ministry of Transportation. The city is contributing the remaining funds.

Dwayne Dawson, executive director of operations at City of Windsor, says the project will be similar in scope to previous works on the road that occurred last year. That work saw construction on the section of the road between Dorchester Road and Malden Road.

“It will be very similar with complete reconstruction — the only difference this time is there are no intersections involved and no traffic signals,” he said. “It’s straight road work.”

On average, 60,000 vehicles travel along Huron Church Road each day.