County Road 31 and Flagg Road bridge replacements begin next year

SDG – Two more bridges over Highway 401 in South Dundas are slated for replacement in the next two years.nnSDG Counties council received a presentation by Nathan Bakker from the consulting group WSP at their September 18th meeting on the proposed Highway 401 bridge replacement projects.nnThe Highway 401 overpass for Flagg Road is slated for replacement in 2018. The project is similar to the Brinston Road overpass replacement in 2016. Flagg Road will be closed for the duration of the project. Highway 401 will have two overnight closures with detours over County Road 2 for the bridge demoltion.nnDuring the project, the planned detour route for Flagg Road traffic follows Zeron Road and Brinston Road/County Road 16.nnThe planned replacement of the County Road 31 bridge will take place in 2018 and 2019 with a more complicated replacement.nCounty Road 31 will remain open throughout the replacement project allowing two lanes of traffic and the existing bridge will not be demolished until the new bridge is finished.nnThe project will raise the height of the bridge over the 401, increasing clearances and improving the geometry of the road according to the WSP presentation.nnAccess to the Highway 401 eastbound ramps (on and off) will be closed to traffic for an estimated two months. Short closures of the westbound ramps will also be required.nnThe bridges are part of six replacements planned in the next two years including County Road 36 in South Stormont, Bainsville and Westley Roads in South Glengarry, and Pitt Street in Cornwall.nnMinistry of Transportation Ontario has planned for an estimated $111 million in construction in SDG along the Highway 401 corridor. This includes four structure rehabilitations, 11 structure replacements, 42 kilometres of resurfacing, and various culvert replacements.nnThe next step for the projects is to finish the environmental assessment and obtain permits and approvals from the affected municipalities. Following that, the projects will be sent out for tender.