Judged from a strictly dollar perspective, a $5.6-million, 15-month road expansion in the central north portion of Ajax, Ont. would seem rather routine.
However, the 1,300-metre long widening of Westney Road to four lanes from Delaney Drive/Magill Drive to just north of Rossland Road and a 660-metre-long widening of Rossland Road where the two roads intersect is crucial to coping with traffic flow.
"The widening is necessary and needed to accommodate increasing traffic volumes resulting from population growth in Ajax," says Durham Region project manager James Garland.
According to regional forecasts, by 2026 an estimated 16,000 vehicles will be travelling on Westney Road north of Rossland Road daily. That figure will climb to 20,000 vehicles south of Rossland, he says.
Designed by Morrison Hershfield Limited and overseen by general contractor Elirpa Construction and Materials Ltd., the project also includes a long list of infrastructure improvements including a multi-use path, cycling lanes and a specially designed noise attenuation fence.
Construction has been underway since last August and just before Christmas the contractor completed the construction of two through and two turning lanes at the Rossland Road intersection. Before those improvements were completed, there was considerable morning and evening rush hour congestion at the intersection, says Garland.
The physical expansion of Westney Road is now underway, he says.
Westney Road is an important north-south arterial road which connects with Highway 401 to the south and will ultimately connect with the Highway 407 extension—although an interchange there has been deferred by the Ministry of Transportation. There’s also Rossland Road links with Pickering on the west and Oshawa on the east, says Garland.
But the project is more than just moving vehicles. It’s also very much about taking into account the disruption to the families who live along the route, he says.
Under a 2012 Noise Policy, which "sets a threshold for rear yard exposure," a noise attenuation fence is being erected along the backyards of approximately 30 homeowners who live on both sides of Westney.
Intended to have a long service life, the "acoustically effective and esthetically pleasing" 2.4-metre-high cedar wood structure has concrete footings, which provide protection against wind loading and galvanized steel posts clad in cedar to match the tongue and groove fence panels.
Designed by regional staff using the findings of noise consultant SS Wilson Associates, the fence is the first to be installed by the region under the noise policy which was developed in response to public concerns voiced during a 2005 transportation master plan consultation and a number of subsequent environmental assessments.
Previously, noise walls were only considered on regional road projects if there was a significant forecasted noise level change.
Now they are warranted, at least for study, if the future noise levels are predicted to exceed 60 dBA (A-weighted decibels), which are measures of sound pressure or noise levels. The objective is to achieve a minimum six dBA reduction in backyard patio areas, says Garland.
"People will still hear traffic noise but it will be less disruptive."
In the case of the Westney Road widening, special care in the actual timing of the fence erection was also taken. The fence was placed at three locations on the west side of the road late last fall.
"The installation was scheduled for late in the season so that residents could have uninterrupted use of their backyards during the summer and early fall," Garland explains.
In addition, the contractor was required to install temporary wire mesh fence panels at each property to maintain backyard security, remove any existing homeowner fencing, and install the new fence segments within a 12-day period—and only one weekend—to cut down on the time each yard was exposed, he says.
Two shorter segments on the east side were added earlier this winter.
When asked why this type of fencing is just being installed now when the noise policy was implemented in 2012, Garland explains many regional road widening projects are not adjacent to backyards. And most backyards that are near roads already have fences as a part of the original housing development.
As for the overall road project, it’s scheduled for completion in November. But the region has a long-term plan to continue the expansion of Westney north to Taunton Road to meet traffic volumes. That is expected to occur in 2020, says Garland.
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