Realizing how much traffic there is on Cabana Rd. now, and how much more there will be once a new acute care hospital is built on County Rd. 42, the City of Windsor is moving ahead with a full rebuild.
The city had already planned to install bike lanes and connect sidewalks, but will also expand Cabana between Walker Rd. and Huron Church to four-lanes. The project will move ahead in six phases between 2016 and 2023 and cost an estimated cost of $46-million.
City engineer Mark Winterton says the first phase will start next year.
"Probably not in the spring. Probably in late summer," he says. "We have to go through a procurement process -- getting a consultant onboard, doing all the surveys, doing all the pre-engineering. So, it's going to be a challenge to get things moving."
There's a bright side for businesses along a stretch of Walker Rd. too. By moving ahead with improvements on Cabana, city council decided to hold off on planned construction on Walker between the E.C. Row and Division Rd. Winterton says Walker isn't at capacity yet, and the businesses requested the delay.