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Guiderails deemed “unsafe” installed on Highway 69 in the French River area have now been removed and replaced by safer guiderails, said Nickel Belt MPP France Gélinas.
The move is in response to a severe highway crash that occurred in September of 2020. The Hwy. 69 crash involved a woman from St. Catherines who had her foot severed in the incident.
OPP on scene said the vehicle crashed into the X-Lite Guiderail, causing the rail to go through the vehicle.
This model of guiderail is under investigation in the U.S. after being tied to several deaths.
The guiderail is made of multiple pieces designed to collapse when struck, but officials have found that the X-Lite doesn’t always work as intended, and in some crashes, the guiderail ends have pierced vehicles.
Gélinas said in a statement that the woman was one of many who have been injured by the guiderails.
She further stated that according to correspondence between her office and the Ministry of Transportation, “the X-Lite Guiderail End Terminals do not meet standards and are now removed from the ministry’s list of eligible products. MTO will be replacing all X-Lite Guiderail End Terminals with guiderail end treatments that are certified according to industry standard.”
Though both her work to change the rails and the process itself will take time, Gélinas says she is happy to report that all the unsafe guiderails that were installed on Highway 69 have been replaced as of July 6 of this year.
She also states the Ministry of Transportation has done an Ontario-wide inventory. “There are 570 X-Lite Guiderail End Terminals on provincial highways,” stated Gélinas. “The Ministry has confirmed that they will all be replaced by August 31, 2021.”
