Broadway West and West River Reconstruction

The County of Brant is planning infrastructure improvements along Broadway Street West and West River Street in Paris.

The project will replace and improve important underground infrastructure, including wastewater and stormwater services, and install a new watermain. A new multi-use path will also be added, giving people a safer and more comfortable space to walk, cycle and use other active transportation where one doesn't currently exist.

The new watermain will help support future residential, commercial and industrial growth in south Paris and is being funded through development charges.

What to expect: Traffic impacts and road closures

Beginning in late October, West River Street will close to through traffic between Charlotte Street and Broadway Street West so storm sewer work can begin. The road will remain open to local traffic.

The County was notified that a gas main is required to be relocated on Broadway Street West. Two way traffic will be maintained to help manage traffic flow. There may be minor traffic impacts, so please allow extra time and plan your route accordingly.

As construction progresses:

  • West River Street will remain open to local traffic only during its active construction phase.
  • Broadway Street West will be fully closed to traffic during its active construction phase. Access to residential properties will be maintained.
  • Broadway Street West and West River Street will not be closed at the same time. One route will remain open throughout construction.

Work will also take place beneath the CN railway tracks. This work will require a temporary full closure of either Market Street or Broadway Street. Access to Railway Street will be maintained. More information about the closure and timing will be shared once CN has approved the work plan.

The County will continue to coordinate construction and traffic impacts between this project and the Downtown Dig. Until Grand River Street North and William Street reopen, and two way traffic will be maintained to help manage traffic through the area.

Additional information about construction timing, closures and traffic impacts will be shared as work progresses.

Local access maintained

While temporary access reductions or restrictions may happen at specific times near Railway Street, the County plans to maintain consistent access to:

  • Railway Street
  • Paris Transfer Station
  • Penman’s Pass parking lot

Stay informed

Progress updates will be posted on this page. Subscribe to receive updates by adding your email to the Stay Informed box on this page and click ‘Subscribe'.

The County of Brant is planning infrastructure improvements along Broadway Street West and West River Street in Paris.

The project will replace and improve important underground infrastructure, including wastewater and stormwater services, and install a new watermain. A new multi-use path will also be added, giving people a safer and more comfortable space to walk, cycle and use other active transportation where one doesn't currently exist.

The new watermain will help support future residential, commercial and industrial growth in south Paris and is being funded through development charges.

What to expect: Traffic impacts and road closures

Beginning in late October, West River Street will close to through traffic between Charlotte Street and Broadway Street West so storm sewer work can begin. The road will remain open to local traffic.

The County was notified that a gas main is required to be relocated on Broadway Street West. Two way traffic will be maintained to help manage traffic flow. There may be minor traffic impacts, so please allow extra time and plan your route accordingly.

As construction progresses:

  • West River Street will remain open to local traffic only during its active construction phase.
  • Broadway Street West will be fully closed to traffic during its active construction phase. Access to residential properties will be maintained.
  • Broadway Street West and West River Street will not be closed at the same time. One route will remain open throughout construction.

Work will also take place beneath the CN railway tracks. This work will require a temporary full closure of either Market Street or Broadway Street. Access to Railway Street will be maintained. More information about the closure and timing will be shared once CN has approved the work plan.

The County will continue to coordinate construction and traffic impacts between this project and the Downtown Dig. Until Grand River Street North and William Street reopen, and two way traffic will be maintained to help manage traffic through the area.

Additional information about construction timing, closures and traffic impacts will be shared as work progresses.

Local access maintained

While temporary access reductions or restrictions may happen at specific times near Railway Street, the County plans to maintain consistent access to:

  • Railway Street
  • Paris Transfer Station
  • Penman’s Pass parking lot

Stay informed

Progress updates will be posted on this page. Subscribe to receive updates by adding your email to the Stay Informed box on this page and click ‘Subscribe'.

Questions and comments

County of Brant Staff aim to maintain a respectful and constructive dialogue with the public through all forms of communication. We understand and appreciate that people will have differing opinions and concerns, and we welcome all feedback, questions, and comments in a respectful and constructive manner.

Please ask your question or leave your comment below. We will do our best to respond within 3 business days.

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  • Thank you for the detailed clarification. Your response helps clarify the County's approach, but it also raises three specific questions about how the effectiveness of that approach is being assessed, the third of which is particularly critical. 1. Spring speed assessment You indicated that traffic speed was evaluated on one detour street in the spring and found to be within acceptable tolerances. Could you please provide the location, date/time, measured speeds and applicable tolerance for that assessment? Was it conducted during school arrival or dismissal, and under the same traffic conditions that exist today? 2. Paid-duty OPP deployment You indicated that paid-duty OPP was used at the beginning of the detour and that effectiveness is assessed through HTA infractions and observed driver non-compliance. Could you please provide the approximate dates/duration and results of that deployment? If it was discontinued, what informed that decision? 3. "Real-time mitigation" Most importantly, you indicate that there was no cumulative traffic-impact assessment and that the County is instead relying on "real-time mitigation," while also generally not collecting continuous quantitative traffic data. Could you please explain what specific information is being reviewed on an ongoing basis to determine that the current traffic-control measures remain adequate, and what information or threshold would trigger a change to the traffic-management plan? I appreciate that the overlapping construction was not entirely within the County's control. My concern is not with the infrastructure work itself, but with the evidence being used to determine that the resulting temporary traffic conditions—particularly around Paris Central Elementary—are being adequately and proactively managed. Thank you.

    Aileen Costigan asked about 1 month ago

    The evaluation was focused on Broadway St West and East, Charlotte St and Emily St., the primary designated detour routes channeling displaced corridor traffic. The data collection occurred over a specific multi-day window in the Spring season. While it captured standard daily commuter traffic.

    Paid-duty Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) presence was leveraged as an initial behavioral deterrent when traffic patterns first shifted. Enforcement was deployed concurrently with the launch of the primary detour phase, spanning an approximate two-week duration. The presence resulted in a high volume of visual compliance and localized traffic calming. However, the amount of Highway Traffic Act (HTA) infractions (such as speeding or failing to yield) was low, as driver behavior temporarily corrected while police cruisers were visible. Paid-duty deployments are categorized as temporary, short-term measures to manage initial driver confusion during a transition phase. The decision to conclude the deployment was based on two factors: the high fiscal cost of sustaining continuous paid-duty policing, and the operational assessment that driver compliance relies on visible presence and drops off immediately once the cruiser leaves the site. 

     

    In the absence of continuous radar counters,  staff monitor traffic flow via weekly physical site inspections during peak school hours, feedback and incident logs submitted by the school crossing guards, and direct community escalations. A formal alteration to the current traffic-management blueprint or the deployment of hard engineering diversions would be triggered by any of the following definitive thresholds:

      • A verified "near-miss" trend or physical conflict pattern documented by crossing guards or school administration at the immediate intersections serving Paris Central Elementary.
      • An operational failure characterized by continuous corridor gridlock that prevents emergency vehicle clearance through the intersection.
      • An official recommendation from the OPP or the school board indicating that the safety zone has been structurally compromised by changing traffic volumes.

     

    We are a couple of weeks away from traffic returning to Grand River Street North and there have been no incidents to date that have been notified to the project team.  We will continue to monitor the streets within the detour and make any adjustments, if needed.  We expect everything to stay status quo until Grand River St N is reopened based on the experience to date since school started for the year.

     

  • Thank you for the detailed response. I appreciate the clarification that County/OPP discussions occur approximately every two weeks and that the County has consulted with school-board transportation personnel. I would like to clarify one important point in your response. You state that “no consistent concerns were identified by the public, OPP or staff to track and quantify.” My concern is that this appears to describe a process that relies primarily on concerns being reported or observed before they are tracked and quantified, whereas my question was specifically about how the County is proactively assessing safety during an unusual period in which a school zone is carrying a substantially different traffic pattern due to multiple overlapping construction projects. Could you therefore clarify: What objective data or observations, if any, is the County currently using to assess whether traffic and pedestrian conditions around Paris Central Elementary are safe? Is the County currently collecting or reviewing traffic volumes, vehicle speeds, traffic queues, pedestrian movements, school arrival/dismissal conditions, heavy-vehicle volumes, collisions, near-misses, or other safety indicators in this area? If the County is not collecting these types of data, how is it determining that the current traffic-control arrangements are sufficient? What specific conditions would cause the County to conclude that additional traffic-control measures are necessary, and what additional measures are available? With respect to the OPP patrols described as providing a “visible presence,” could you clarify whether those patrols occur during school arrival and dismissal periods, how frequently they occur, and what observations or outcomes are used to determine whether that approach is effective? Regarding consultation with the school, when you state that “no concerns were raised by school personnel,” does this refer specifically to discussions with the Senior Manager of Transportation Services, or were the school's administration and personnel responsible for day-to-day student arrival, dismissal and pedestrian safety also consulted? Finally, I appreciate the explanation that the overlap of the Downtown Dig, Broadway Street West and West River Street projects was not originally anticipated and that the County is working to mitigate the resulting impacts. Given that the overlap has nevertheless occurred, could you please provide any traffic-management or safety assessment that was undertaken to evaluate the cumulative effect of these projects on downtown traffic and pedestrian access? I am not questioning the need for the infrastructure work. My concern is specifically how the County is objectively assessing and managing the safety consequences of the exceptional temporary traffic conditions created by that work.

    Aileen Costigan asked about 1 month ago

    1. Objective Data and Safety Indicators

    The County typically relies on a combination of standard engineering guidelines, field observations (project staff, By-Law officers and crossing guards), and active monitoring to evaluate temporary traffic-control plans rather than continuous, automated data logging.

    • The County monitors reported collisions, formal traffic complaints, and operational feedback from the site inspector and Brant OPP. Quantitative data like daily radar speed volumes or continuous traffic queues are generally not deployed for temporary construction phases unless a systemic pattern of risk is flagged.  Traffic speed was evaluated on one of the detour streets in the spring and it was found to be within acceptable tolerances relative to the posted speed limit.
    • Sufficiency is determined by adherence to the Ontario Traffic Manual (OTM) Book 7 (Temporary Conditions). If traffic is flowing within the designated detour parameters without structural blockages or documented accidents, the existing signage, barricades, and line markings are deemed legally and operationally sufficient.
    • The County would conclude further measures are necessary if there is a documented spike in collisions, repeatable "near-miss" reports from crossing guards/police, or severe gridlock that traps emergency vehicles.
    • If triggered, the County can deploy temporary traffic signals, paid duty OPP officers for manual intersection control, temporary pedestrian crossovers, variable message signs to redirect heavy trucks further upstream, or restricted turn movements during peak school hours.

     

    2. Brant OPP Patrols and Effectiveness

    The "visible presence" strategy is designed as a psychological deterrent to curb aggressive driving and speeding through detour zones.

    • OPP patrols are subject to dynamic daily operations and priority calls across the County. While the OPP is requested to monitor school zones during high-volume period, they do not have a permanent, stationary deployment at Paris Central Elementary unless a paid-duty agreement is specifically enacted.  Paid-duty was enacted at the beginning of the detour in the spring to help reinforce good driving standards.
    • Effectiveness is evaluated by the volume of Highway Traffic Act (HTA) infractions laid during these patrols and whether regular presence results in a downward trend of observed driver non-compliance.

     

    3. Scope of School Consultation

    The communications channels utilized by the municipality structurally differ from day-to-day school operations.

    • The stated consultation refers strictly to administrative and logistics management via Philip Kuckyt (Senior Manager of Transportation Services at the school board).
    • The County does not directly poll individual classroom teachers, principal administrations, or parent-council groups on a daily basis. The operational pipeline relies on the school principal or crossing guards reporting site-level safety hazards to project staff who then formally escalate those operational concerns to the County project team during the bi-weekly project meetings or sooner if warranted.

     

    4. Cumulative Traffic Assessment

    Because the overlapping timelines of the Downtown Dig, Broadway St. W., and West River St. projects were an un-planned adjustment due to unforeseen construction delays and utility conflicts, a single, unified cumulative macro-traffic impact study was not modeled in advance.

    • Instead of an advance cumulative study, the County utilizes real-time mitigation. When the overlap became inevitable, the engineering and public works teams adjusted the individual traffic management plans. This involves examining if tweaking signal timings at nearby arterial intersections is warranted and relying heavily on the upcoming mid-to-late October timeline to clear the core downtown bottleneck and restore normal distribution patterns.

     

  • ORIGINAL QUESTION: This will very likely expose Paris Central Elementary School to even heavier and more dangerous traffic than it is already experiencing due to current construction projects, as it lies on the only unimpeded thoroughfare through downtown at the moment. What measures will the County of Brant be taking to ensure the safety of drivers and pedestrians at key travel times in this area during these exceptional circumstances? COUNTY OF BRANT RESPONSE: Thank you for voicing your concern. County staff have been and continue to be in regular communication with Brant OPP regarding the detours surrounding downtown Paris. The Brant OPP are aware of resident safety concerns and patrol this area regularly. FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS: Can you please share more about what you mean by 'regular communication' and areas patrolled 'regularly'? When/how often is the County communicating with OPP on this and what particularly are you discussing in these communications regarding this exceptional situation? What metrics/data are you using to proactively identify safety concerns, as a reactive approach in a school zone that lies on the only unobstructed thoroughfare through town is clearly unacceptable? How are you and the OPP then responding to any identified concerns? What is the frequency and what are the goals of the OPP patrols you mention? How do you know that these patrols are sufficient and effective? Did you collaborate with school personnel to plan proactively for this situation and how are you solving problems iteratively with them to ensure the safety of Paris students? What steps did the County take/is the County taking to consider, evaluate, prioritize and plan this project in the context of other multiple major construction initiatives that are having an extraordinary impact on traffic and vehicular/pedestrian access, safety, and mental health?

    Aileen Costigan asked about 1 month ago

    Thank you for your questions.

    The County of Brant and Brant OPP meet regularly to discuss detour routes affecting downtown Paris. These meetings occur approx. every two weeks during regularly scheduled construction meetings.  In addition, when issues arise that require immediate attention, the County contacts the Brant OPP in a timely manner to discuss the concern.  Brant OPP are responsible to respond as per their protocols. When they patrol, it was to provide a visible presence.  No consistent concerns were identified by the public, OPP or staff to track and quantify.

    The school receives notifications of detour routes impacting their immediate area and bus routes.  We have not received any additional concerns related to school and safety related to this project. We spoke to Philip Kuckyt, Senior Manager of Transportation Services for the school board multiple times. No concerns were raised by school personnel to respond to.

    The Downtown Dig and the Broadway St W and West River St projects were not originally planned to overlap as they have.  Due to circumstances out of our control, we are adjusting to mitigate impacts the best we can. The project has been in the queue for many years.  New watermains, sewer lines and stormwater are required; making it a priority project. The County is understanding of the level of frustration related to construction occurring in Paris.  We will continue to do our best to balance the need to replace critical infrastructure while ensuring efficient travel routes are maintained.  It is anticipated that the Downtown will re-open in mid to late October which will help to alleviate additional congestion.  

    We hope this helps.

  • Hello, Just wanted to say a huge thank you for adding the multi-use trail as we like to travel down this road often to get to the trails & connect to downtown from before the tracks and this will make it so much safer & more accessible for our family and so many others that we know also travel this way via bike, stroller, foot, etc. We are SO excited!! Thanks so much for your time, Steph

    Steph asked about 2 months ago

    Hello Steph!

    Thank you for your comment!  We are excited about extending the connectivity, as well!  

    Have a great day!

  • What sections of Broadway and West River will get dug up? Did Broadway not just get repaved? Will this freshly paved area get dug up? West River has been recently paved as well - will these areas get dug up?

    Jonah asked about 2 months ago

    Thank you for your question. The following sections will undergo construction:

    • West River St (north of Charlotte Street where the 2025 project ended to Broadway Street West)
    • Broadway St W (from West River St to Capron St/CN Rail Tracks)

     These two sections have not been reconstructed in many years .   We hope this helps.

  • We use permit parking on West River St as we do not have a driveway. will this construction affect Street parking?

    Hanna spencer asked 2 months ago

    Thank you for your question! Yes. Access to on street parking will likely be prohibited or limited for the duration of construction. Alternative parking will be provided. The approved area may change as construction progresses down the street.  You will be provided notice of these changes as they occur.

  • Be reminded about the natural streams (springs) hidden within hills of the road. I feel they are the big reason why potholes always form in the broadway st west road. I feel the road all the way to railway st is very unstable. Shirley Simons

    ShirleyS asked 2 months ago

    Thank you, Shirley.  

  • I'm a bit confused about whether you are or are not going to finish the Downtown Dig before closing more key routes through town. The above information says there will be a two-week overlap. What does that mean?

    Shannon McBride asked 2 months ago

    Thank you for your question.  West River St (between Charlotte St and Broadway St W) will close for construction in early October but remain open for local traffic only.  Further work will not proceed until the Downtown Dig (Grand River St N phase) is fully open.

  • Will Grand River St North be opened completely by the time this starts? Getting around this town the last 2 years had been an nightmare. Enough is enough!!!!

    Mark H - Extremely Frustrated asked 2 months ago

    Thank you for your question.  West River St (between Charlotte St and Broadway St W) will close for construction in early October but remain open for local traffic only.  Further work will not proceed until the Downtown Dig (Grand River St N phase) is fully open. 

  • I am retiring from the Canadian Forces and moving back to my hometown town as a child. I bought at Condo at 140 West River Street. The Atlas big Vanline Moving Company will be unloading my furniture and effects anytime from 30 Oct and/or a few days later. What advise should I give the large Atlas Vanline Company. It has to unload my furniture at my new purchased Condo. Please advise.

    Angie Gagne asked 2 months ago

    Thank you for contacting the County of Brant.  Please contact Joe Murphy at Joe.Murphy@brant.ca so you can discuss routing the truck to the condo's parking lot on your move-in day. Unloading should occur from the parking lot and not on-street.  We wish you the best with your move and welcome back to Paris! 

Page last updated: 06 Nov 2026, 04:35 PM