Highbury Avenue’s suspension-stressing ‘budump-budump’ to be silenced by $25.5M rebuild

CTV’s Daryl Newcombe with talk at city hall regarding plans to repave the expressway portion of Highbury Avenue from Hamilton Road to Hwy. 401.

Cracked and heaving, the expressway portion of Highbury Avenue South is poised to get a long-awaited rebuild.

On Monday, members of the Infrastructure and Corporate Services Committee (ICSC) discussed awarding a $25.5 million contract to reconstruct the four-lane divided road between Highway 401 and the Thames River.

The project will also include work to extend the lifespans of the overpasses at Bradley Avenue and Commissioners Road.

The drive has become synonymous with a repetitive ‘budump-budump’ sound as a vehicle’s tires cross a series of uneven cracks that run perpendicular to the roadway.

Admitting they regularly receive complaints about the bumpy ride, councillors on ICSC expressed their relief that work will begin soon.

“It’s horrible that we welcome visitors on a stretch like that,” said Coun. Paul Van Meerbergen. “It’s what I would call an atrocity, so this is really good news that this is finally being done.”

“If I ever don’t make it to a meeting, check the potholes on Highbury,” joked Coun. Hadleigh McAlister. “Unfortunately, I’ve already hit a few this season.”

The expressway was constructed in the early 1960s by Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation, but it became a municipal roadway.

It carries 45,000 vehicles each day, 15 per cent are trucks.

The corridor is the only City of London road with a posted speed limit of 100 km/h.

Rehabilitation projects in 2008 and 2010 utilized a “diamond grinding” process that added texture to the surface to improve ride quality and friction.

In December 2021, City Hall anticipated a $20 million reconstruction could begin in 2023.

The road surface is primarily concrete, with some sections replaced or overlayed with asphalt, so city staff requested bids for rebuilding the lanes with either material.

A comparison of price and expected lifespan resulted in staff recommending the new road be constructed with asphalt.

“We are getting the best bang for our buck with the asphalt bids,” explained Doug MacRae, director, Transportation and Mobility. “And [based upon] the lifecycle costing over a 50-year period, it is the best financial value for the city.”

The reconstruction of Highbury Avenue is expected to begin north of Commissioners Road this May, and continue next year south of Commissioners.

Work will be completed by November 2027.

A traffic management plan has been developed for the project:

• Maintaining one lane per direction on Highbury Avenue South by diverting traffic between northbound and southbound lanes using temporary crossovers
• Phased closures of Bradley Avenue and Commissioners Road East ramps with signed detours
• Reduction of Commissioners Road East to one lane in each direction
• Flagging operations on Bradley Avenue with limited weekend/night closures
• Coordination of detours and signage with the MTO Highway 401 project
• Ongoing coordination with London Transit Commission.

“There will be obviously some detours and inconveniences around Highbury, which I know will be a pain-point for folks,” explained Coun. McAlister.

Council is anticipated to award the construction contract on March 31.