There’s no debate on whether improvements to a large span of Rutherford Road, between Highway 400 and Westburne Drive in Vaughan, are needed.
“This area has seen a huge amount of growth and with that comes major traffic congestion, so we need more lanes on Rutherford,” said Toney Piarulli, who lives on Rutherford and uses the roadway daily.
“But unfortunately, crews have taken a long time to get it done.”
The massive project, tackling a variety of issues on the roadway, began in the spring of 2021. Since then, drivers say they’ve dealt with reduced lanes and brutal traffic delays.
“It takes me about 20 minutes to get through three traffic lights,” one driver told Speakers Corner. “It’s atrocious.”
The project will widen Rutherford to create six lanes for drivers and accommodate cyclists. It also includes other improvements like upgraded traffic signals, road beautification and widening and replacing a bridge between Keele Street and Jane Street, which goes over CN rail lines below.
“Crews have taken a long time to get it done.”
But drivers say they’ve gone weeks this summer without seeing workers present.
“Not enough machinery or manpower so it has a lot of us wondering what is going on,” Piarulli said. “I have asked this question to myself many times. But I don’t have the answer.”
York Region staff told Speakers Corner the project has hit several delays including culvert replacement work west of Grenock Drive.
“The installation of the large culvert is taking longer than anticipated,” staff told us. “Additional work was required due to unexpected poor soil conditions, including soil removal and culvert design and construction to address the poor soil conditions,” said Salim Alibhai, director of Capital Planning and Delivery for York Region.
Heavy rainfall this summer has also impacted road crews.
“The work also has to comply with permits requirements from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to protect fish habitat and work cannot be completed until the water recedes and fish are not in the work zone.”
Alibhai also said crews have run into other challenges including the bridge work over the CN rail line.
“Continuous train operations and associated restrictions have not allowed the work to progress as expected. For safety reasons, the contractor cannot work in close proximity to running trains and the contractor has been unable to get track downtime,” he said.
Alibhai added road crews are working but may not be seen for a variety of reasons one being crews are often out of driver’s line of sight, working below the bridge.
“Work also may be happening at one end of the road and no work somewhere else due to scheduling of work activities/sub-contractors or sequencing of activities, for example waiting for concrete to cure,” he said.
The project’s new target date for completion is still a year away, but Alibhai said there will be some relief for drivers before then.
“Rutherford Road from Westburne Drive/Barrhill Road to Jane Street is anticipated to be completed to base asphalt and open to three lanes in each direction by the end of 2024, except at the CNR bridge.”
Alibhai said the bridge work, which has reduced lanes and caused the most headaches according to drivers, may not wrap up until the summer or fall of 2025.
“Dependent on cooperation from CN Rail to allow the Region’s contractor to undertake work in the rail corridor.”
Drivers say it means another stretch of several months where they’ll just have to increase patience, they say is already running thin.
“Its discouraging but we have to learn to live with it because there’s no way around this, no detour,” Piarulli added. “We just hope this comes to an end because it’s very upsetting for the whole community.”
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