Entering a new era of safety in Ontario
Windsor, ON, Canada
Project Team
Owner: City of Windsor
Wall Installer: Facca Inc.
General Contractor: Coco Paving
Architect/ Designer: Dillon Consulting Engineers & Partners
Solutions: Durisol® TL-4 MASH crash-tested transparent noise barrier system, Transparent Noise Barriers
Sectors: Transportation
E.C. Row Expressway
Roads & Highways, Transportation – Windsor, On, Canada
At peak commuting times, up to 75,000 vehicles travel through E.C. Row Expressway in each direction. The E.C. Row Expressway is a municipal-owned expressway in the City of Windsor, Ontario, Canada that connects the provincial-401 highway to the Ambassador bridge, an important border link between Canada and the U.S.
A heavily used roadway, it was imperative to the city that upgrades were done to keep vital infrastructure in good shape and increase safety.
Project Details
A section of the roadway has been undergoing lane reconstruction by general contractors, Coco Paving, which has seen the re-paving of the eastbound lanes of the expressway and an off-ramp. But perhaps the most noticeable improvement to the area was the bridge rehabilitation on the Dominion Road overpass.
As this project was effectively a bridge structure rehabilitation, the City of Windsor decided to also replace the existing structure-mounted precast noise barrier and replace it with our Durisol® TL-4 MASH crash-tested transparent noise barrier system.
Durisol first provided pricing options for both a non-crash tested transparent noise barrier and a crash-tested system. The City of Windsor decided to adopt and embrace the new standard of safety which provincial highways require, opting for the crash-tested system.
Being that this was Durisol’s first supply job using the latest MASH TL-4 crash-tested noise barrier system, the team was heavily involved with the full design of the application as well as procurement and fabrication of the required components. Our team visited the site to determine field measurements of the existing bridge structure, taking note of particulars that would need to be considered in the design such as expansion & control joint locations, signage, and existing post anchor locations.
The new wall system required different post locations due to new on centre post spacings for the new TL-4 wall system. This would accommodate the crash-tested design and the GSCC transparent acrylic sheets complete with integral polyamide filaments which minimize fragment sizes in case of a collision.
FACCA was responsible for the multi-phase installation of the crash tested barrier system. The fabricated posts were installed onto the existing structure and the insertion of the acrylic sheets followed. Once the acrylic sheets were placed, the clamping angles were tightened, and the retention cables were installed. Installation was able to be carried out in a short time period to meet the opening of the upgrade section of road as scheduled.
