ACTUALITÉ / NEWS
Highway expansion study begins in spring
gregg.chamberlain@eap.on.ca Cumberland
position regarding the 174-17 expansion project hinged on having the section of the highway between Orléans and Ottawa leading up to The Split interchange included in the EAP study. The goal of the study,andtheoverallproject,nowconcerns expansion of Highway 174 between Or- léansandOttawafromitspresentfour-lane status to a six-lane thoroughfare and the Cumberland section of the highway along with County Road 17 in Rockland from a two-lane route to a four-lane. Blais noted that the Village of Cumberland’s own local planning concerns will be considered in the EAP and the later design process, including what impact expansion of the highway routecouldhaveonneighbouringproperty lines and rights-of-way in the narrower sections of the road running through Cum- berland. The councillor said that at this stage it is too early to speculate on whether or not expropriation or compensation would be necessary as part of any highway expansion. “We won’t know until the design of the road is done,” he said. “It will still be several years before the (expanded) highway is built.”
The time for talk is finished. Now begins the actual reviewof whether or not expansion of the highway connection between Orléans and Rockland can work in terms of cost and the environment. The Environmental Assessment Process (EAP) begins this spring for the proposed expansion of the section of Highway 174 and County Road 17 located between Or- léans and Rockland, and including the villageofCumberland.Coun.StephenBlais expressed satisfaction with the situation. “I’m very happy to see the process begin,” Blais said during a phone inter- view Jan. 30. The working statement for the EAP agreement between the City of Ottawa and the United Counties of Prescott-Russell (UCPR) goes before the Ottawa municipal transportationcommitteeforfinalapproval this week. Blais does not expect to see anything come up during the committee session to upset all the work he put in last year to lobby support for both the EAP and the whole highway expansion proposal. “This is essentially the working statement,” he said. “Everything else is agreed.” The province has provided $5 million to cover the cost of the EAP. Results are expected within an 18-month to two-year period.Followingthatisthedesignprocess if the project still goes ahead. The UCPR has supported expansion of thehighwayconnectionbetweenRockland and Orléans for several years now and it has been one of the pet projects of Jean- Marc Lalonde during his time in office as the Liberal MPP for Glengarry-Prescott-
Photo Gregg Chamberlain If the expansion of Highway 174 and County Road 17 goes ahead, primary interchanges like the Trim Road intersection between Cumberland and Orléans may be due for major design overhauls.
“A set of traffic lights there just doesn’t do it anymore,” Blais said, regarding the current Trim Road intersection design. The City of Ottawa’s turnaround on its
Russell. The previous Ottawa municipal council was opposed to the project, arguing that the city had other local transportation issues that ranked higher on its priority list. Following his 2010 civic election win, Blais began arguing for the highway ex- pansion project based on traffic safety concerns among his constituents in the rural Cumberland ward. One of those concerns focused on getting “a proper interchange” for the Trim Road intersec- tion which, Blais noted, is a major access point for commuters from the Cumberland area and points west towards Clarence- Rockland who drive to and from Orléans-Ottawa for work and shopping.
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