Chatham-Kent council recently approved hiring a consultant to recommend how to proceed with upgrading and improvement along McNaughton Avenue West from Keil Drive North to Bear Line Road in Chatham.
Increased traffic due to the new St. Clair College Training Centre expansion and plans for the new St. Clair Catholic District School Board Elementary School and the new Children’s Treatment Centre of Chatham-Kent are factors in the project.
A sanitary sewer was extended along McNaughton Avenue West to Bear Line Road in the fall of 2017.
A Traffic Impact Study (TIS) was completed in 2018 as a condition of site plan approval for the new Catholic School to determine the effects of the additional pedestrian and vehicle traffic it would generate in the area.
The TIS recommended the installation of a traffic signal at McNaughton Avenue and Keil Drive North, and a pedestrian crossover located in front of the school on McNaughton Avenue.
Plans for these traffic signal devices will be included in the project.
In addition to recommended traffic signal devices, the work is to include a new storm sewer, curbs and gutter, granular road base, asphalt surface, sidewalks and street lighting. McNaughton Avenue West from Keil Drive North to Fergie Jenkins Drive.
The 2018 Active Transportation Lifecycle identified Keil Drive North as a corridor to be part of the Ontario Municipal Commuter Cycling Grant program.
HRYCAY Consulting Engineers of Windsor was awarded the contract for $158,175. Seven firms bid on the contract.
Also under consideration are plans for upgrading Keil Drive North from Grand Avenue to McNaughton.
A full report on the project can be found on the municipal website.
