Old Fort Road slated to reopen mid-February

Numerous delays in the Old Fort Rd. closure near Hwy. 12 should be at an end, as an anticipated opening date has been set for next month.

The closure began as a county project when the Old Fort Overhead Bridge, originally built in 1978, was seen deteriorating beyond repair and required a replacement to be installed. 

However, the seemingly simple ambition to replace the section of CR-58, as it is formally called, became more difficult than just demolishing the bridge above the Tay Trail where the former CN Railway once traversed.

According to Simcoe County transportation construction manager Julie Scruton, their contractor’s most recent schedule has placed reopening the road in mid-February.

“The timeline of this project has shifted due to a number of contributing factors,” Scruton told MidlandToday, “including conflicts with hydro pole locations within the excavation limits. This required the contractor to construct the north and south bridge abutments separately instead of simultaneously as originally planned. Delivery of the steel girders was also delayed due to external production issues.”

The demolition of Old Fort Overhead Bridge was scheduled last May but was moved to early June, impacting access to the Tay Trail and neighbouring Midland’s annual butter tart festival.

As noted on the project page of the Simcoe County website, the new bridge was made as a 30-metre stretch while having its profile lowered due to there being no need to accommodate for the height of a train beneath.

“This structure is slightly wider and longer than the original bridge with the roadway shoulders approximately 0.5 metres wider than the existing roadway and the new road profile lowered,” wrote Scruton. “These alterations will provide more space for pedestrians and cyclists to share the road along with better sightlines for drivers by eliminating the existing crest curve at the bridge location.

“(As of publication), the bridge concrete deck has been poured and the parapet walls and approach slabs are under construction. The bridge deck and approach slabs will be paved with temporary asphalt prior to reopening the roadway to the public,” Scruton added.

Once reopened to the public, a pause on construction will be made for the remainder of winter until seasonal spring temperatures allow for work to continue.

Speeding along Old Fort Rd. has been an issue for area residents as motorists use CR-58 as a thoroughfare from the intersection near Port McNicoll, where it is a posted 50 kilometre-per-hour road, down south at a 80 kilometres-per-hour limit toward Wyebridge and Vasey. A detour on Rumney Rd and Elliot Sdrd. prompted a recent resident deputation to Tay Township council asking once more for traffic calming measures and law enforcement on aggressive speeders in the vicinity.

The question of the Old Fort Rd. reopening was brought up during the operational services section of Tay Township committee of the whole recently, with members of council receiving a similar update on the projected timeframe.

Information on the CR-58 Old Fort Overhead Bridge project can be found on the transportation engineering page of the Simcoe County website.