Windsor gathers feedback on Twin Oaks exit options during public meeting

Windsor gathers feedback on Twin Oaks exit options during public meeting.. (Source: AM800)

The City of Windsor is reviewing three options for a new exit from the Twin Oaks Business Park after hearing concern from residents and workers about limited access to the area.

At a public information session on Thursday at the Forest Glade Community Centre, the city presented three possible egress locations to those in attendance, where each option moves further east than the last.

The first two would require culvert extensions due to a municipal drain in the area, which could cost more and take longer to complete.

Administration is recommending a third option where the egress is closest to Banwell Road and would go onto the eastbound E.C. Row Expressway from Anchor Drive. This option would also connect with the ongoing Banwell and E.C. Row overpass interchange project.

The push for a second exit comes after the city closed the previous second access road during construction of the NextStar Energy EV battery plant, leaving Twin Oaks Drive off Lauzon Parkway as the only entry and exit point.

In January, city council approved plans for the new exit in the 2026 budget following a major snowfall incident in which a stuck semi-truck blocked access to the area for more than two hours.

Tammy Dunford, Chairperson at GreenShield with Unifor Local 240, says being able to get onto the Expressway would be great, as Lauzon Parkway is a disaster.

“If we can’t get through to Banwell, it would be nice to get directly to Banwell, but the next best option would be right off the Expressway... somewhere right central of Twin Oaks between us - Green Shield - and the battery plant.”

Lindsey Atherton, Vice-Chair at GreenShield with Unifor Local 240, says it’s a huge safety concern for their members.

“If there’s any type of emergency in that area, we are dealing with batteries and chemicals, so that’s a scary thought for a lot of our employees... what if something happens? How do we get out? Are we all going to get out in a timely manner? So yes, we’re hearing it constantly.”

Stacey McGuire, the city’s Executive Director of Operations, says administration is leaning toward the third option.

“That one puts us just to the east of the municipal drain, so a little bit further east than the other two options, and it provides one continuous weave lane between the new on-ramp, and the proposed off-ramp that we’re constructing as part of the Banwell interchange. So there will be direct interconnectivity between our new on-ramp and the Banwell’s off-ramp in this situation.”

McGuire says the preferred option would cost approximately $1.25-million, while the other two options would be several hundred thousand more due to the culvert. Council approved $1.475-million through the East-West Arterial drain project funding for the work.

The input will be gathered from the meeting, and administration will decide at a later date which option would be best.

Detailed design and final cost estimates will happen next, and then the city will put out the tender, which council has already given their nod of approval to.

McGuire adds that the city is hopeful the project will be completed in 2027, with detailed design, the tender process, and early construction to happen by winter 2026.