People driving along County Road 4 (Yonge Street) between Line 8 and Line 9 in Bradford should start to see something new rising up in the near future.
That’s because construction of a new bridge over the future Highway 400-404 Link (Bradford Bypass) began back in October and the contractor is currently working on the bridge foundation, according to Dakota Brasier, senior communications advisor and press secretary for the Ministry of Transportation Ontario (MTO).
“Gridlock is not just going to disappear, and neither is commercial traffic. We cannot maintain the status quo. We need to build the Bradford Bypass and we’re delivering,” she said via email.
The bridge work began shortly after work finished in September on building a detour to shift Yonge to the west.
In addition to the bridge over the future bypass and speed change lanes for the planned interchange, the MTO’s project includes widening Yonge to four lanes over about 1.3 kilometres, from south of Line 9 to Line 8, and is intended to align with the County of Simcoe’s plans for similar widening starting just south of Line 9 and heading north, according to the Final Early Work Report from March 2022.
The lanes are each planned to be 3.75 metres wide with a two-metre concrete median separating north and south traffic in some areas.
The MTO’s project is also expected to include a three-metre-wide multi-use path running along the east side, which will transition to a paved sidewalk at the intersection with Line 8, and be separated from traffic along the bridge by a concrete barrier.
The project also includes the necessary curbs, gutters, drainage and revised driveway entrances as needed.
Future phases of construction are expected to impact the intersection with Line 8 as a result of lane reductions, realignments and the removal of traffic islands.
Premier Doug Ford was was joined by York-Simcoe MPP and then Minister of Transportation, Caroline Mulroney, in Bradford in November 2022 to announce the start of construction on the project.
Brasier explained the design-build contract for the project worth $30.3 million was awarded in April 2022 to Brennan Paving and Construction, who are working with Morrison Hershfield design engineers.
Brasier did not answer when asked if there was a target date for when the project is expected to be complete.
While the final environmental assessment report for the bypass was made available in November and Minister of Finance Peter Bethlenfalvy’s fall economic statement confirmed preliminary work will continue in 2024, the bypass’s final design is yet to be determined.
Work on Yonge and the bridge over the planned bypass route was able to proceed as part of Ontario Regulation 697/21, which was passed by the provincial government and received royal assent in October 2021.
The regulation was proposed by the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks and exempts certain MTO projects, including the early work on the Bradford Bypass from certain requirements of the Environmental Assessment Act.
That has resulted in backlash from local residents and environmental groups, leading to court challenges and admonishments from political leaders.
Issues of property expropriation and the design of the interchange proposed for Sideroad 10 have also concerned local residents, and led Sarjeant Co. to seek relocation of their concrete batching plant.
— With files from Natasha Philpott and Rob Paul
