Construction on one of Windsor’s largest infrastructure projects is over 50 per cent complete. The new Banwell Road overpass project at the E.C. Row Expressway/County Road 22 contines, and the southbound lanes of the reconstructed Banwell Road corridor south of E.C. Row have now been completed, including curbs, sidewalks, base asphalt, and boulevard restoration. Crews continue work on the northbound lanes, the new bridge, on- and off-ramps, and the new roundabout north of the expressway. Some residents may have noticed the removal of the styrofoam-looking blocks around the project; however, the city is stating there are no issues. The Expanded Polystyrene GeoFoam replaces a large volume of soil beneath the bridge, helping prevent settlement around the project. According to the city, some of the blocks are being temporarily removed in a small, localized area as part of a quality assurance review of grading and site conditions. “We are doing a little bit of quality assurance just to ensure that our grade levels are exact there. And definitely when you go through a project of that magnitude and expense, you want to make sure before you actually put that top final road cap onto those types of blocks that everything is where it’s supposed to be in terms of elevation,” said David Simpson, Windsor’s commissioner of infrastructure services. According to Simpson, the GeoFoam blocks are commonly used in construction projects such as the Gordie Howe International Bridge. “This is very different from your typical styrofoam that you might see in daily packaging and things like that. But the nature of this product - it’s actually 100 times lighter than using typical granular soil or other materials as part of the base to the bridge abutments that you’ll see out there.” Simpson added, work is progressing well, with completion still expected by the summer of next year. “It’s all very intricate. Everything’s choreographed to be done in phases. So again, the contractor’s doing a fantastic job getting as much of that work done before we hit winter conditions as possible and the asphalt plants close. So they’re doing exactly what we need them to do at this time of year.” The city says the project remains on schedule and on budget, with substantial completion targeted for next summer. Construction of the $120-million overpass began in Sept. 2025. The Banwell Road corridor currently carries between 10,000 and 17,000 vehicles a day. With files from AM800’s The Shift with guest host Chris Byrne
