GO train bridge work to shut down Highway 401 in Bowmanville next month

With Oshawa trying to come to grips with traffic chaos from multiple bridge work and road closures related to the GO train expansion into Bowmanville, it is Clarington’s turn to feel the pain, with several bridge projects in the works, including one that will mean a total shutdown of a section of Highway 401 next month.

Demolition and reconstruction of the Bennett Road bridge in Bowmanville begin Aug. 7 with a closure of the road between Baseline Road and Lake Road from 10 p.m. Friday, August 7 to 6 a.m. Monday, August 10.

Highway 401 will be fully closed in both directions overnight between Liberty Street and Highway 115, from 11 p.m. Saturday, August 8 to 7 a.m. Sunday, August 9 to accommodate “critical” bridge construction activities.

Detour routes will be in place throughout the closures, and emergency access will be maintained. Drivers should plan ahead, a statement from Metrolinx said, allow extra travel time, and follow posted detour signs.

Construction of a new bridge at Green Road in Bowmanville began in May, with the road closed for two years for the work. A new bridge at Courtice Road is also in the planning stages.

Simcoe Street bridge work in Oshawa

A section of Simcoe Street in Oshawa was closed – also for two years – in January for construction of a new bridge over the rail tracks to allow GO trains to travel to the planned new central Oshawa station just to the east.

Oshawa motorists are also dealing with bridge construction at Albert Street and Wilson Road as part of the GO train expansion and the closure of Park Road and Cubert Street to accommodate the widening of Highway 401.

The much anticipated and much delayed GO train expansion east from Oshawa is expected to take 15 years before commuters can travel all the way to Bowmanville, though Metrolinx CEO Michael Lindsay said the transit agency hopes to “claw back” that timeline.

The project will involve the construction of four new stations at Thornton Corners (which will require a new bridge over Highway 401) and the central station at Ritson Road in Oshawa and at Courtice and Bowmanville in Clarington.