Brock commuters, get ready:  Three years of construction, lane closures and detours are about to begin at the sprawling junction of Highways 406, 58 and St. David’s Road.

But the end result will be something that students and residents have wanted for a long time: a safe route for pedestrians and cyclists who currently share tight space with fast, heavy traffic as they trek along St. David’s Road to and from campus.

This Monday, June 26, crews are scheduled to start the mammoth task of overhauling the swirl of roads and bridges in the 1960s-vintage interchange, which was designed before the era of thousands of Brock students living off-campus. The project is expected to take until 2020 to complete.

Rankin Construction of St. Catharines has been awarded the $29.1-million contract to strip, restore and in some cases remove existing infrastructure. The plan includes taking out an existing bridge and several highway ramps, making way for new intersections and safer traffic flows on St. David’s Road.

But perhaps the biggest news is for people who aren’t in vehicles at all.

The project will create a four-metre-wide “multi-use path” (see the blue line on the accompanying map) to get pedestrians and cyclists safely along St. David’s Road, between Sir Isaac Brock Way at one end and the residential suburbs of Thorold and St. Catharines at the other.

Running parallel to St. David’s but separated by a boulevard, the path will be a game-changer for people who currently walk or cycle along more than a kilometer of four-lane artery, using intermittent bits of narrow sidewalk or grassy shoulders, and darting across ramps where cars zip past at highway speeds.

Rankin engineer Walter Liszek said that, once work begins, motorists will encounter the following measures on an intermittent basis:

• Lane reductions in each direction on St. Davids Rd
• Close ramp from Hwy 58 South to St. Davids Rd east and west
• Close ramp from Hwy 58 South to 406 south
• Close ramp from 406 north to Hwy 58 south
• Lane reduction on ramp from 406 north to Hwy 58 south
• Close ramp from 406 north to St. Davids Rd east
• Close ramp from St. Davids Rd west to Hwy 58 south
• Lane reductions or full closure of Hwy 406 northbound between Port Robinson Rd to Beaverdams Rd

MTO spokesperson Astrid Poei said impacts on travel will evolve through the life of the project, and the MTO will communicate upcoming changes through community notices and traffic bulletins sent to news media and to Brock University communications staff.

“We understand the importance of these structures, especially the 406/St. David’s interchange, as routes for students to get to school and for residents to get to work,” said Poei. “Safety is our top priority.

“We ask for commuters’ patience as we work as quickly as possible to complete this project. Once work is complete, drivers, cyclists and pedestrians will see a multi-use-path, smooth pavement and landscaping, among other improvements, in the Highway 406/St. David’s Road area.”

New intersections and a four-metre-wide multi-use path are illustrated in this engineer’s map.