The ‘much needed’ expansion of Highway 3 takes another step towards reality

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The expansion of Highway 3 between Essex and Leamington took a step closer to reality on Friday when Infrastructure Ontario and the Ministry of Transportation announced the selection of three teams to prepare and submit bids for the design and construction of the next phase through of a request for proposals process.

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The long-awaited final phase of widening the motorway from two to four lanes will run along a 15.6 kilometer stretch from approximately 1.2 km east of Arner Townline (Essex Road 23) to 1.1 km east east of Union Avenue (Essex Road 34).

Leamington Mayor Hilda MacDonald said residents of her city will be grateful that the project has taken the next step.

“It’s an advantage for the people who live on this end of the county,” he said. “I’ve been racing down the road to Windsor for the past two weeks and it certainly gets easier to handle once you hit the separate highway (after Essex).

“I am sure that the experience will be better for everyone once it is done and there will be the certainty that it is safer. With the number of trucks on the road now, this is certainly very necessary. We are happy that it arrives. “

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Up to 17,300 vehicles travel between Essex and Leamington every day on Highway 3, which has long been known as one of the most dangerous stretches of road in the area.

It is currently under construction to widen 4.9 kilometers of Highway 3 from Maidstone Avenue to Arner Townline in Essex with that section expected to be completed in 2023.

In June, the government launched a qualification process request for the next phase, and three teams were selected to bid on the project during the request for proposals process.

Among the selected teams were Erie Shores Infrastructure Partners, which is led by Brennan Infrastructures Inc. and Amico Infrastructures Inc., a team known as Highway 3 Corridor Developers which is led by Aecon Infrastructure Management Inc. and Plenary Americas LP, while the third team is Coco Paving Inc.

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Those three must submit proposals detailing how they will design, build and finance the project, which will then be evaluated by Ontario’s infrastructure and transportation ministries with a successful bidder to be announced in fall 2022.

“Road safety has been, and always will be, a priority for our government,” said Caroline Mulroney, the province’s transportation minister. “By expanding Highway 3, we are delivering on our promise to make travel easier and safer for the thousands of people who depend on this highway every day.

“This project will support good jobs during construction and, once completed, will ensure that our truck drivers and transporters can get their products to market more quickly.”

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