Hwy. 402 blockade ends as protesters clear the roads, and lanes reopen to traffic

The ongoing blockade on Highway 402 in southwestern Ontario has come to an end as protesters have cleared the area between Nauvoo Road and Forest Town Line. 

The township of Warwick, Ont.'s Mayor Jackie Rombouts told CBC's Afternoon Drive on Monday that negotiations ended with protesters moving their equipment off the highway to allow it to reopen to traffic by the evening. 

"I explained to them how blockade was putting people's lives in danger with the detour and the last thing that anybody, including the protesters, need is for anyone to get hurt," she said. 

Rombouts, who has continuously spoken out against vaccine mandates on social media, says that protesters saw an ally in her which allowed them to engage in a one-on-one conversation. 

"I've never demonized them as evil people and so that gave me an opportunity to actually have a conversation with them. Instead of calling them names, I just listened to their concerns and empathized with them," she said. 

"It was really important for our community that the 402 gets opened up so we don't have a delay happening," she added. 

The highway was closed for about five days with vehicles that were stopped on the roads in support to support protests happening across Canada 

Rombouts also expressed her support for the ongoing protests in Ottawa by saying that "people just want to be heard by their elected officials."

Lambton County Warden Kevin Marriott describes the blockade's end as a "very welcome event" saying that earlier in the day, there appeared to be no end in sight.

"The road has just been reopened and we're elated because this was a real hazard, it's amazing news for us," he said. 

Mariott says that the blockade led many residents to be unhappy with traffic being rerouted, along with safety hazards on the detour routes which are commonly used by school buses.  

"Roads that the trucks were rerouted to were definitely roads that had school buses, so there was a lot of concerns of parents with kids," he said. "There was already signs of roads crumbling from all this traffic over the last few days."

He added that the blockade was also causing destruction on the roads which were not built to withstand such heavy traffic that the highway had over the past week. 

Marriott said that he's not too worried about another blockade happening, emphasizing his confidence in the province's declaration of a state of emergency which, he believes, should be enough to discourage any further protests.