An advocate for concrete barriers on Hwy. 401 between London and Tilbury says a crash on Tuesday proved her point.
Alysson Storey, leader of the Build the Barrier campaign, said concrete barriers could have prevented Tuesday's collision that saw an eastbound truck break through the wire barrier and strike two other tractor trailers in the westbound lanes near the Merlin Road overpass.
While only non-life threatening injuries were reported, Storey said it could have easily been deadly.
"If that truck had hit a passenger vehicle, it could have been an entirely different outcome," Storey said. "I am very thankful because we are this close to Christmas and we don't need a tragedy like this on our roadways."
According to Storey, concrete barriers are the only thing proven to keep tractor trailers from crossing into oncoming traffic when they go out of control. She said while cable barriers are effective for smaller vehicles, they can't always stop big trucks. Storey said barriers are needed to protect not just drivers but also emergency responders.
"They are at risk and exposed," Storey said. "It happened in a collision in that exact same spot about a year ago in a blizzard when an OPP officer was struck by a pickup truck while responding to another collision."
Storey has asked Elgin-Middlesex-London MPP and Transportation Minister Jeff Yurek to speed up an environmental assessment on the stretch of highway, which has been dubbed "carnage alley," so construction on the barriers can begin sooner.
"He knows first hand the situation we're facing," Storey said. "He's very well versed and knowledgeable about this, so having him as Minister of Transportation is a very good development for this issue."
Storey said there is no concrete timetable for when construction on the concrete barriers will begin, but she hopes it will start in spring of 2019. She plans to meet with other MPPs and ministers involved with the project soon.
Storey added this collision is particularly worrisome considering winter isn't even in full swing yet. She fears there could be more of these incidents, which might result in more than just non-life threatening injuries to those involved.