The County of Lambton construction supervisor overseeing the development of a roundabout in Warwick Township is concerned about the safety of his workers and contractors. The intersection of Nauvoo Street [County Road 79] and Egremont Road [County Road 22) has been closed since July 18. Glen Hamill said despite posted detours and road closed signs in place, motorists continue to drive through the construction site. “We’ve asked for OPP presence because the [construction] Trucks have to go in and out too, and people go right around a red and white [road closed] sign, which is illegal,” Hamill said. “That’s what I’m worried about is my workers and the workers from JR [Contracting Inc.]. People just go through there so fast because they know they shouldn’t be in there and that’s the biggest concern.” Under the Highway Traffic Act, the fine for disobeying a sign is $110 once the victim surcharge is added and can be doubled if there are workers. “We urge everyone to follow detours. They are well posted. There are three of them,” Hamill said. “All bypasses are in the county or [Ministry of Transportation] roads. We cannot bypass on local roads, just because the traffic on country roads is large vehicles. Smaller vehicles use local roads, local people know how to use these roads, we don’t want to force anyone onto them. We need to be either at MTO or on the roads of Lambton County.” Hamill said construction remains on schedule and on budget, and he hopes work will continue smoothly into the fall. “We are still on schedule to break ground in early October. With the rainy season coming, that may change, but as of now, late September, early October is when we hope to be fully open.” Hamill said there is still plenty of work to be done. “All electrical [work] it must be done. There is recycling and paving outside the roundabout that is part of this project as well as all the curb work. A lot of the base material still needs to go in, the gravel A [a base mixture of small stones, grainy sand and dirt] has to go in, so there are quite a few things that need to be done. So we’ll be at least another month before we get anywhere near the pavement. Probably three to four weeks before we are ready to lay. Once the paving starts, it won’t be long.” The new roundabout is estimated to cost $3.3 million.
