Traffic on Oxford Road 59 between Devonshire Avenue and Tecumseh Street in Woodstock to be reduced to a single lane northbound from mid-February to December 2024

Major rehabilitation work on the Oxford Road 59 (Vansittart Avenue) bridge in Woodstock is scheduled to start February 14, 2024, reducing traffic to a single lane northbound between Devonshire Avenue and Tecumseh Street until construction is completed in December 2024.

The bridge, originally built in 1967, is undergoing major reconstruction work, including the complete removal and replacement of the existing bridge deck, repairs to the structure, and a new wider deck to accommodate bike lanes and sidewalks. Rehabilitation of the bridge was identified as a priority in a 2022 bridge inspection report.  

During construction, southbound traffic will be routed to two detours:

• Detour 1 - Oxford Road 17 west to Oxford Road 30 (11th Line)
• Detour 2 - Oxford Road 17 east to Oxford Road 4

Pedestrian access will be maintained at all times through a sidewalk on one side of the northbound lane, with the side of the lane subject to change based on the work taking place.

Access from Tecumseh Street to Pittock Conservation Area’s South Shore Trail also remains open, although the parking lot under the bridge is needed for construction and will not be open to the public.

People travelling through this area should expect traffic delays. Please help keep our community and workers safe: respect work zones, obey traffic signs, and maintain a safe distance from equipment and vehicles entering and leaving the site.

For information and updates during the construction period, please visit www.oxfordcounty.ca/59bridge.  

Background

• The OR 59 bridge is a primary transportation route in the City of Woodstock with an annual average daily traffic volume of 13,410 vehicles per day.
• Oxford County compared a number of construction staging scenarios in the fall of 2023, consulting with emergency responders (fire, police and ambulance), local utilities, rail authorities, and the City of Woodstock to arrive at a construction plan that balances timing, traffic impacts, cost, site safety and, importantly, the need to maintain northbound access for emergency responders.
• The Oxford Road 59 bridge reconstruction project is considered to be of generational magnitude, meaning work is of a scale only necessary once in a generation. When completed, this project will extend the service life of the bridge by 75 years.