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OPP cracking down on illegal detours in Delhi

Police have followed through on warnings to truckers who abuse detour routes in Delhi during the King Street reconstruction project.

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Staff Sgt. John Fashing of the Norfolk OPP says the local force has laid 30 charges against truckers who have tried to make their way through town by way of Western Avenue or Talbot Road.

Distroscale

Heavy trucks are directed to an out-of-town bypass for the duration of the project. The route involves Lynedoch Road west to Rhineland Road (Norfolk Rd. 16), then north reconnecting with Highway 3 on the west side of Delhi.

The detour routes in downtown Delhi pass through residential neighbourhoods. Smaller vehicles are allowed but heavy trucks are not.

“It’s very much upsetting to the residents of Western Avenue,” Delhi Coun. Mike Columbus said at the June 24 meeting of Norfolk’s Police Services Board.

“Talbot Street is also carrying a lot of traffic that should be going through King Street.”

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Columbus has commented in recent weeks that the disruption on King Street – the east-west section of Highway 3 passing through downtown Delhi – is lasting longer than expected.

Construction started last summer and was expected to be finished by the end of 2019. Instead, work has continued into 2020. The in-ground road work is substantially complete. However, there are long sections where curbs and sidewalks have yet to be installed.

Douglas Vallee Ltd. of Simcoe is the engineering firm attached to the project. In a note to Norfolk County earlier this month, the firm says the project is taking longer than expected because of a change of plans involving street lighting. Preparations for this work required a temporary suspension of construction.

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“The change was related to the replacement of the electrical servicing to the existing street lights,” G. Douglas Vallee Ltd. says. “This was not included in the original scope of work.

“During construction, it was decided to replace this electrical work to address several issues with the existing system and improve maintenance access moving forward and reliability of the system.

“Prior to the pause in construction, all underground work was complete. The pause occurred as the installation of the electrical street light infrastructure would impact any work that remains to be completed. The prudent approach was to not continue and complete work that would only have to be removed to allow for the installation of the electrical work.”

Vallee expects King Street to be finished and open to through traffic by the end of July.

Under normal conditions, as many as 13,000 vehicles a day pass through Delhi on King Street.

Overseeing the $3.6-million project is Sierra Infrastructure of Woodstock.

The county initially set aside $2 million for the job, which includes the installation of new water and wastewater infrastructure, a new road bed, and new asphalt among other improvements.

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