County paving way for Essa road improvements

By Brad Pritchard Alliston Herald Sep 23, 2013
ESSA – Essa Township will be benefiting from three County of Simcoe initiated road improvement projects over the next couple of years.
The township’s manager of public works Dan Perreault recently gave an update to council on two projects in the works along Mill Street in Angus.
The project closest to having shovels hit the ground is the creation of proper intersection at the north entrance to Canadian Forces Base Borden where Mill Street (County Road 90) and County Road 10 meet.
Perreault said the plan is to create a signalized intersection further south on Mill Street, closer to the base entrance, which will replace the stop sign and left turn lane that currently connects County Road 10 and Mill Street.
The project is still at the environmental assessment stage and it’s expected a public consultation meeting to discuss the plan will likely be taking place in early October.
According to County of Simcoe spokesperson Marci Dineen, site preparation and utility relocation will start next year, with the intersection reconstruction to begin in 2015 pending budget approvals. The entire project is estimated to cost $3 million.
The county is also piecing together plans just up the road to realign King Street and Pine River Road where they meet at Mill Street near the old library.
Perreault said the aim of the project to make better sightlines for drivers when they come into the intersection.
“Right now the approach from King Street, it comes in at a 60 per cent angle to the intersection, they are looking at increasing that to about 80 per cent,” he said.
The county is also looking at putting in dedicated turn lanes to access King Street and Pine River Road and to create curbing along the two commercial plazas immediately to the west of the intersection.
The project is on track to follow the same timeline and will cost an estimated $1.6 million to complete.
Perreault said the county is looking at further improvements in the township’s northwest end by aligning the 25th Sideroad and Mapleview Drive at County Road 27 to create a signalized intersection.
He said details on this proposal are still being put together and that construction might not start until late 2014 or early 2015.
In the spring, the county also began work on a major road improvement project along County Road 90 between Barrie and Essa Township.
The project, which is estimated to take seven years to complete and cost $56.5 million, will see the 15-kilometre stretch of road rebuilt into five lanes with middle turning lanes and will also include work on two bridges.