Written By Jan Sims
MIDDLESEX CENTRE - The roundabouts are ready. After many months of construction, the two roundabouts along Oxford St. and Glendon Dr. leading into and out of Kilworth-Komoka are finally into the home stretch.
“The roundabout is now fully open to traffic. There is still some minor cleanup and warranty work remaining that is set to be completed in Fall 2025,” says Director of Construction and Infrastructure for the city of London Jennie Dann who’s overseeing the roundabout on Oxford Dr.
“Just a bit of clean up here and there but the project is considered to be complete,” says Middlesex County Engineer Chris Traini of the roundabout on Glendon Dr.
Both projects were deemed necessary because of the large volume of traffic in the area. In regards to how smoothly the projects went: “Other than some slight delays in the spring of this year construction went very well. We were very pleased with how the project was completed on time and the management of traffic during some challenging stages of the work.”, says Traini of the Glendon Dr. roundabout.
“During construction, the project encountered several unforeseen challenges, which contributed to schedule delays beyond the anticipated completion date,” says Dann in regards to the Oxford St. roundabout.
Although community social media posts suggest there’s been a learning curve as far as drivers unfamiliar with roundabouts, both municipalities are positive about how traffic has been flowing. “The roundabout is functioning well, there were a few ‘growing pains’ while drivers got used to the new intersection but we’ve heard nothing but good things from the public,” says Traini.
“During the planning and design stages, public input was generally positive, with many residents looking forward to the improvements at this intersection,” says Dann. “Oxford Street West sees around 15,000–18,000 vehicles per day, so this was an important spot to improve,” adds Dann.
As for the cost of the roundabouts, London is still adding up the final numbers. “However, the cost implications have been managed within the construction budget, including the contingency,” says Dann.
As for Middlesex County: “We are still tallying the final accounts but we still are on budget for around $6,000,000 for the project,” says Traini.
