‘Solve it now before there is a loss of life’: Bradley calls on province to fix transport bottlenecks along 402 westbound

Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley wrote to the province, asking for action to solve transport truck traffic on Highway 402. CTV London’s Bryan Bicknell reports.

Cross-border traffic to the U.S. is down, but you might not realize it if you spend any time in Sarnia.

The mayor in the border city is calling on the province to do something about the long lines of transport trucks making roads unsafe for local drivers.

Mike Bradley said the truck backup on Highway 402 westbound is so bad sometimes, trucks will travel through the city and re-enter the 402 at the last exit before the Bluewater Bridge into Michigan.

“The trucks are coming into the city, and the Sarnia Police are doing their best to deal with that. But we’re also seeing out on the highway, interaction between vehicles, which is not good, it’s not safe,” said Bradley.

“You’ve got the trucks in two lanes passing over. You’ve got cars trying to go down along the Highway to bypass the trucks. The trucks aren’t letting people in, in most cases.”

Some of Sarnia’s larger streets are becoming through-fares for trucks, local resident Al Coleman told CTV News.

“The line of trucks on this road (Exmouth Street) are just continuous,” he said.

His daughter, Lisa Trudell, agreed.

“My dad gives me forewarning of when there’s a backup, and what to avoid,” she said.

Truck drivers may be trying to bypass a transport bottleneck stretching along westbound Highway 402 for several kilometres.

Mayor Bradley has written to Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Singh Sarkaria, asking for immediate steps to ensure free-flowing traffic on the 402, and to boost enforcement of trucking violations.

“It’s very busy at that border crossing right now, despite a decrease in Canadian traffic to the U.S., so solve it now, before there is a loss of life,” implored Bradley.

And if westbound border traffic isn’t bad enough, traffic is also shut down on the eastbound Highway 402 for a stretch heading out of the city. That’s because the intense heat has caused the pavement to buckle for the third time this summer. Traffic is now being re-routed onto London Line.

“The province needs to investigate. It’s the same contractor. Why is this happening? Because of heat? You can’t tell me they’re building roads that can’t sustain high, high temperatures,” said Bradley.

The OPP said the 402 is expected to re-open by midnight Tuesday. In the meantime, it’s asking drivers to find an alternative route, and give themselves extra time.