SHUNIAH -- A Ministry of Transportation official involved with an updated plan to twin 14.4 kilometres of Highway 11-17 between Pass Lake and Pearl says entrance access seems to be the biggest concerns of nearby residents.
Dan Preley, a project manager with the MTO, said most of the people who attended Tuesday’s public information session were property owners concerned about the impact the new highway plan might have on their lives.
For the most part, there’s little to worry about, he said.
“Many people who have a property near the highway have a residence and have a nearby access point,” Preley said.
“Typically we’ll be restoring those. We’ll have to review them from a safety perspective and in some cases they’ll have to be relocated or closed. But we’re going to go through that process right now, deciding which entrances will stay, which ones will be moved and which ones will be closed.”
About 30 residents were on hand for Tuesday’s open house, and while most chose not to go on the record, at least one participant wasn’t too concerned – nor did he think his opinion would matter.
“They’re going to do what they want, whether I want them to or not,” the man said, choosing not to be identified, but also adding he’s OK with the project going forward.
The new plan is an update of a 1996 proposal to twin the stretch of highway, part of the province’s plan to four-lane the Trans Canada between Thunder Bay and Nipigon.
Brian Huston, a project manager with Dillon Consulting, said the open house was a chance to present the public with the MTO’s preferred route, based on feedback from the first public meeting last fall and engineering studies.
“We’re just taking that plan and updating it in terms of current standards. In some places the road is being twinned to the south, in some place to the north and some places on a new alignment,” he said.
There are concerns about property impacts, which Huston said he hopes can be alleviated during this phase of the project.
Based on the feedback, if the plan is moved forward as presented, an environmental study will be conducted this summer.
“Once we get past that step there is about 18 months of detailed design required that would be completed in the balance of 2016 and 2017. Construction is slated to follow that.”
A third public meeting will be held during the next design stage.
More information about the project can be found at www.hwy11-17pearl.ca.
