Lambton’s warden says the detour around the protest on Highway 402 is having an impact on county roads.

About 25 vehicles, including tractors, pick ups and three large CAT trucks, parked on the 402 westbound near the Forest Road exit Wednesday. About 16 vehicles are still there today.

The group – which acted in support of protestors in downtown Ottawa – has been camping out in a farmer’s field, complete with trailers, porta-potties, food preparation areas and ice fishing on a five-acre pond. Sunday night, one of the organizers brought in a DJ and music could be heard on the 402 as fireworks lit up the sky.

The protestors in Ottawa and on the 402 want all COVID-19 measures ended. The organizing group – Canada Unity – published a memorandum of understanding saying they wanted to turf out the current government and form a coalition with the senate and the governor general. Since then, the group has also appealed to the Conservatives, Bloc and NDP to form a coalition.

Another protest which shut down Windsor’s Ambassador Bridge was ended by police late Sunday. Over the seven days protestors cut off access to the US, transports made their way through Lambton and to Port Huron, Michigan via the Bluewater Bridge.

Thousands of transports and personal vehicles are going off the highway at Nauvoo Road and returning to the 402 at Oil Heritage Road. This morning, trucks were lined up at the Nauvoo Road exit as far as the eye could see and traffic on London Line was causing 20 minute backups as transports waited for the lights at Reece’s Corners so they could get back on the highway.

Warden Kevin Marriott says all that traffic is not only bothering drivers and residents trying to get out on the county road, it’s taking a physical toll on the road structure.

“There is major damage to both county roads and and lower municipality roads,” he says noting both London Line and Zion Line in Warwick are showing noticeable signs of damage. “It’s really happening quickly now apparently because of the traffic; the roads just aren’t built like the 402 to handle weight and truck after truck after truck.”

In Windsor, an association which represented auto parts manufacturers which lost hundreds of millions of dollars because of the Windsor blockade, went to court to get an injunction to ban the protestors from the bridge. Marriott says that’s not possible here.

“The 402 is completely a provincially-owned corridor. It isn’t really even possible for us as the County of Lambton to file for an injunction when it’s a provincially-owned highway.”

Saturday, the Ontario cabinet passed special measures under a State of Emergency which doubles traffic offenses and gives police the power to take away drivers licenses and seize vehicles.

Today, the federal government told provinces it would invoke the Emergencies Act which allows government to restrict people from certain geographic areas and compel businesses to provide services – with compensation. That move may allow police to keep more people from arriving on the 402 and in Ottawa and force tow truck drivers to remove vehicles.