A busy intersection in Grand Bend will not be hindered by construction work this year as the widening of the Ontario Street Bridge is being postponed again until 2024.
"COVID initially pushed back the first phase of the project, which was the widening of Ontario Street, north of the bridge. The municipality also needs to acquire land in order to complete the bridge widening project and are working to finalize the purchase of the property," said Lambton Shores Mayor Doug Cook. "Unfortunately with the delay, it is not anticipated that the bridge widening project will start until the spring of 2024 and [will] take up to 24 months to complete."
Cook said a tender for the project will likely be issued later this year, hopefully by then the cost of materials will have gone down.
"We knew prices were extremely high last year for projects just because the demand was there, so by maybe waiting another year, we may be able to get a better price on our project too," Cook said.
Nevertheless, the provincial investment of $4.8 million, announced in 2021, will remain in place.
Plans for the bridge included an additional lane to help with traffic flow.