The City of Sarnia is hoping to tap into federal government funding to reconstruct Plank Road between Indian Road South and Highway 40.
They've applied for up to $5 million toward the estimated $8.11 million project under the $11.8-billion Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program.
Director of Engineering Mike Berkvens said work will begin with watermain and culvert replacement.
"We'd be looking at the number of lane widths, and adding some shoulders to it," said Berkvens. "The first step would be to do some geotechnical work to find out what kind of road base we would be required to put in there, and we would design the road from there.
"The biggest challenge is looking at what's underneath the road. Being Plank Road, there was a portion where we found planks years and years ago. I'm not sure if there are any remnants of materials of that nature, but we'll find out once we start digging."
Berkvens said the project will eliminate poor pavement, and water ponding, and reduce the number of crashes due to traffic build-ups.
He said it will likely be a couple of months before a decision is made on the application.
Design work is scheduled for next year, followed by two phases of construction in 2021 and 2022.
