Construction at the 40-401 overpass.  April 11, 2017. (Photo by Paul Pedro)Construction at the 40-401 overpass. April 11, 2017. (Photo by Paul Pedro)
Chatham

CK Biz OK With Hwy. 40 Construction

Local business and tourism are taking the seven month closure of Hwy. 40 at Hwy. 401 in stride.

The Hwy. 40 interchange closes at the 401 on Tuesday, April 18 to improve sight lines.

Hwy. 40 will also close at Creek Road/Pinehurst Line north of the interchange and Communication Rd. (Hwy. 40) will close south of the interchange at Horton Line except for local traffic. You can find the detour route below.

Gail Hunt, president and CEO of the Chatham-Kent Chamber of Commerce, admits there will be some challenges along the way, but they will be minimal compared to what the end result will be.

"[It will] make it even easier in the end to come in and visit Chatham-Kent -- visit the businesses and the tourist spots in and around Mitchell's Bay or Erieau. The accesses that will come from these improvements will greatly enhance Chatham-Kent," says Hunt.

The Downtown Chatham BIA says the downtown shops are so unique that people will drive around to shop there.

Connie Beneteau of the Downtown Chatham BIA says with Retrofest coming up she'll have to work fast to notify people of the route changes.

"[We've] got people coming from out of town," she says. "So, somehow we have to get the information out to them that they'll either have to hit Bloomfield or further on because this one will be closed but I plan on putting out some e-mails to make sure people are aware."

Shannon Paiva of Chatham-Kent Tourism Development says the $62-million project is a chance for people to slow down and smell the roses.

"Maybe you're travelling through Kent Bridge Rd. and it takes you to a different area, explore and find some hidden gems that maybe you've never embarked upon even if you're a Chatham-Kent resident. There's that opportunity," Paiva says.

Hwy. 40 detour route for the spring/summer 2017. Hwy. 40 detour route for the spring/summer 2017.

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