Overpass demolished at Dorchester Road and Highway 401
The overpass at Dorchester Road has been demolished, and traffic is flowing freely on the 401.
The road and off-ramps were open Sunday morning after work was done through the night Saturday.
The Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) said the project includes realigning and replacing the bridge with a new four-lane bridge and reconfiguring the interchange ramps.
“This is a badly overdue project and we're very grateful the province of Ontario has jumped in with some infrastructure money to get the job done and, in the end, it will be so much better for this area,” Thames Centre Mayor Sharron McMillan told CTV News prior to the demolition.
The Dorchester Road overpass was demolished on April 13, 2024. (Courtesy: Tom Szoldatits)The demolition was the second stage of the project after construction commenced earlier this month.
A girder erection will take place this summer, and the 401 eastbound on/off ramp will close from July to October. The project is anticipated to be complete in June 2025.
Thomas McQuinn, who has been driving a truck for 40 years, said he’s travelled along Highway 401 many times and that the work is necessary, but will cause a bit of a delay for those heading west on the 401.
"To get into the fuel bar here (Dorchester Road exit), you have to go about 15 miles out of your way to come into the fuel bar, so that's a bit of an inconvenience, depending on which way you're going on the 401,” said McQuinn.
The Dorchester Road overpass was demolished on April 13, 2024. (Courtesy: Tom Szoldatits) Those travelling eastbound can still exit at Dorchester Road.
McMillan recognizes the construction will impact residents and businesses along the 401, but said they are working to mitigate that problem.
For project details travellers can visit the Ontario 511 website for project updates.
—With files from CTV News London's Reta Ismail
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Liberal MP says she's leaving politics over disrespectful dialogue, threats, misogyny
Liberal MP Pam Damoff says she won't run again in the next federal election, saying she has experienced misogyny, disrespectful dialogue in politics and threats to her life.
Concerns about Plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall Plexiglass barriers.
Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Ont. woman who faked pregnancy to defraud doulas arrested again on similar charges
Victims of a Brantford, Ont., woman who was sentenced to house arrest earlier this year for defrauding and deceiving doulas say they’re not surprised she’s been apprehended again on similar charges.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Construction begins on LGBTQ2S+ national monument in Ottawa
Shovels have hit the ground for constuction on Canada's LGBTQ2S+ national monument in Ottawa.
B.C. man awarded $5,000 in damages in first-of-it-kind intimate image case
In a first-of-its-kind case, a B.C. tribunal has ruled on a dispute involving the non-consensual sharing of intimate images, awarding damages and issuing orders that the photos be destroyed and taken offline.