Update as of June 20:
Signage is now posted alerting to the closure of Ford Road at Talbot Line as of June 30.
An intersection in Southwold Township, the scene of several accidents this year, will soon be taken out of commission.
The three-way intersection of Talbot Line, Ron McNeil Line and Ford Road most recently was the site of a two-car crash that sent two people to hospital on June 8.
That’s the last straw, asserts Southwold Mayor Grant Jones, who advises Ford Road will soon be closed at Talbot Line.
The intersection is part of the province’s plan to twin Hwy. 3 through St. Thomas to Ron McNeil Line and a new Hwy. 3 alignment that will bypass Talbotville.
Prior to the above changes necessitated by the announcement of an EV battery gigafactory locating in St. Thomas, the plan was to construct a roundabout at the intersection.
The City of St. Thomas would prefer that the Ford Road connection at this intersection be maintained to provide an opportunity as a future collector connection to the ongoing residential development south of Talbot Line.
Jones tells myFM they are awaiting information from the MTO to determine where road barriers will be erected and eventually a turning circle constructed for snow plows and garbage trucks.
On June 9 of last year, six people were taken to hospital, including one with life-threatening injuries, following another two-vehicle crash at the intersection.
Written by Ian McCallum
