Road work aimed to get traffic flowing between Barrie and Angus

By Laurie Watt Barrie Advance Oct 10, 2013 
Simcoe County is leading a three-way partnership to move east-west traffic between Barrie and Angus.
Two projects will make the commute less burdensome — an eight-year widening of County Road 90 and a second, quicker fix that will align Mapleview Drive with the 25th Sideroad, which runs parallel to, but south of, County Road 90.
“We’ve been working on (the Mapleview-25th project) for a few years and we’re hoping to do construction next year. We’re still working to obtain a few outstanding properties and have a few hydro poles to move,” Simcoe County engineering technician Chris Doherty said.
“The utility relocations should happen either this fall or next spring.”
The project will veer the 25th Sideroad south to intersect with Mapleview Drive at a signalized intersection. The two roads both dead-end at County Road 27 fairly close together and traffic backs up on the two-lane town line.
The improved east-west route linking Barrie and Angus would provide access to Highway 400, Doherty explained.
“Some people will use it to get to Collingwood and bypass Barrie and (eventually) go west on 90. It’s a pretty popular route. There’s a lot of commuter traffic. More and more people are using Mapleview and the 25th to get to Angus.”
The town line road handles about 10,300 cars a day, and it will feature left and right-turn lanes, as well as an extra straight-through lane.
When it opens next year, the upgraded connection will undoubtedly become busier, as work continues on the County Road 90 widening project.
The road is being widened to five lanes — two each east and west with a centre left-turn lane.
“It wlll look similar to Highway 9, but not as wide,” said Doherty, who added County Road 90 is the county’s busiest road, with close to 20,000 vehicles per day, serving commuters, heavy trucks and weekend recreation seekers.
The $57-million project includes bridge replacements, with the CPR overpass being doubled in size. A $4-million tender was just awarded for that part of the project. The Elliot Bridge, which takes traffic into Angus, is slated for replacement in 2019.