A pathway project that’s been eyed for Sarnia’s Golden Mile for the past six years is expected to be built this year. Some of it.
A pathway project that’s been eyed for Sarnia’s Golden Mile for the past six years is expected to be built this year.
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Some of it.
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City council April 8 is being asked to approve a $670,000 Sev-Con Paving contract to create a multi-use path along the south side of London Line, between Blackwell Sideroad and Old Lakeshore Road, just before the onramp to Highway 402.
Almost $500,000 is covered by federal and provincial grant money, from the investing in Canada infrastructure program (ICIP), a city report says.
Coun. Brian White pitched the pathway project in 2018, amid an increase in pedestrians and cyclists using the sides of the five-lane roadway. It’s lined with motels and businesses, and the Blackwell Glen subdivision is nearby.
White said he’s excited to see the work slated to go ahead.
“As demand continues to grow, as we develop that part of the city, it’s only natural we’re going to see more people out there,” he said, adding the pathway has been needed for a long time.
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Sarnia didn’t have the money to fund the project before $27.7 million in ICIP funding was announced in 2019.
The city determined by early 2021 that funding could go toward pathway projects in the city, along with active transportation and transit expenses, such as bus purchases.
Hopes are to finish off the pathway next year, taking it under the Highway 40 overpass, south on London Road and connecting it to an existing pathway near Lambton Collegesaid city engineering and operations general manager David Jackson.
Ministry of Transportation works on Highway 40 again this year means that portion of the project has to wait, he said, noting city and ministry officials are working out details about how it will eventually cross highway on ramps, and how to make it fit under the overpass.
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A barrier around overpass columns might be shifted to make room for the pathway, or a retaining wall could be built, like what’s being done for the Howard Watson nature trail, where it goes under a Highway 402 overpass alongside The Rapids Parkway, Jackson said.
“We’re exploring different solutions,” he said, adding it’s good to see the project progressing, to improve safety for the people who otherwise have to use gravel shoulders and well-worn dirt paths to traverse the area.
That includes people he’s seen using scooters or wheelchairs, he said.
“We are excited about this one to improve the safety out there,” he said, estimating the project could take about two months to build, and may start early this spring.
Sev-Con also built a separate pathway project along Confederation Street in 2022. Sarnia has an agreement with the MTO for the ministry to finish that project, between Finch and Upper Canada drives, when it completes bridge rehabilitation work on Highway 40 over CN rail tracks nearby.
The timing for that work is uncertain, Jackson said.
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