Motorists are being asked to be mindful of construction crews as rehabilitation work begins on a section of Lakeshore Road (County Road 7) in the Town of Plympton-Wyoming.
Construction between Mandaumin Road (County Road 26) and Egremont Road is slated to start on Monday, July 15 and last until late September.
Work includes pavement recycling, a culvert extension, the addition of an eastbound left-turn lane at Fleming Road, road resurfacing with new partially paved shoulders, and drainage improvements.
"We've been working on partially paved multi-use shoulders on Lakeshore Road for a while now and this is actually the last section to do," said County of Lambton Construction Supervisor Glen Hamill. "So Murphy Road all the way up to Highway 21 will [have] partially paved multi-use shoulders and we're pretty happy with that."
Motorists should expect delays and temporary lane closures during the construction process.
However, the intersection of Lakeshore Road and Fleming Road will be closed to through traffic for approximately three weeks from July 22 until August 12, weather permitting.
"The reconstruction [involves] removing materials and putting new — so we're not just putting the old asphalt and recycling it and putting it down. We're actually removing, putting brand new material and that'll be part of the widening," said Hamill. "Where we do the recycling, we can leave the road open and do lane closures. When we're doing a reconstruction, we have bulldozers, and removals, and trucks, and it's a safety concern so we need to close that road for that access to be able to do it properly and safely."
Hamill said the recycle and pave portion of the roadway will have a lifespan of about 15 to 20 years and the reconstruction portion will last even longer.
During the closure, detour signs will be posted.
"The detour is very extensive for people coming in from out of town who are not local. The detour would be Oil Heritage, to London Line, to Mandaumin Road, back to Lakeshore Road," he said. "The locals who are in that area in Camlachie will be using Egremont Road, O'Brien Road, Mandaumin Road."
The contract was awarded to Lavis Contracting Co. Limited for about $1.9 million.
Further information about road closures and project updates can be found on the county's website.