Barrie invests $128 million into road construction projects: Here's what's happening

Barrie is investing $128 million in new roads, improvements, and repairs this year.

"One of council's main priorities is a significant investment in roads," said Mayor Alex Nuttall.

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The city is working on 16 road construction projects and paving more than nine kilometres of roads as part of its road-resurfacing program, Nuttall said.

"We've done a lot of work in terms of the clearing and the infrastructure that needs to be moved to ensure the road construction can take place. Next, you'll start to see the actual construction take place, and certainly, it'll help reduce congestion throughout the south end and allow people to get around a little easier," the mayor added.

• RELATED | Barrie's south end traffic congestion to be relieved with Bryne Drive South extension

The Bryne Drive extension will be five years in the making, said Bala Araniyasundaran, general manager of infrastructure and growth management with the City of Barrie.

"It creates a critical link in the south end," he said.

"This is a unique project. We're actually building a road in a greenfield area. So, that obviously makes the construction go a little faster, and it's one of the few roads in the city where we're building a road where nothing exists right now,"

ROAD CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

This year's major road construction projects include the Bryne Drive extension from Harvie Road to Caplan Avenue to support the new Harvie Road/Big Bay Point Road/Highway 400 crossing. The extension will improve traffic flow in the city's south end.

Crews will also be relocating sanitary sewers at the Cedar Point Drive, Edgehill Drive, Dunlop Street and Hart Drive areas to prepare for the Dunlop Street bridge replacement.

"There's construction happening on Duckworth in terms of the expansion, Essa Road. Construction continues alongside the highway so they can expand the highway and repair it. We're also seeing construction on Sunnidale Road around the 400 between Wellington and Letitia, and there's road resurfacing around the city, around 9.2 kilometres of it," said Nuttall.

The City noted that road resurfacing projects help to prevent deterioration and costly repairs in the future.