Just as one multi-million dollar bridge reconstruction project is wrapping up in Barrie, another has been announced.
Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca joined Barrie MPP Ann Hoggarth, Barrie's director of engineering, Jacqueline Weston and Ward 5 Coun. Peter Silveira to announce funding to rebuild the Tiffin Street overpass and repair the Barrie-Collingwood Railway overpass.
Del Duca said construction -- in co-operation with the City of Barrie -- will create or sustain 270 construction jobs in the region.
Not only will the construction replace the Tiffin Street overpass, it will also be repairing the Barrie-Collingwood Railway (BCRY) overpass during the same time frame.
The bridge is expected to be 26 metres wide, as opposed to 15.5 metres now, and this project will eventually widen Tiffin to five lanes, two bikes lanes and sidewalks, from Ferndale Drive to Lakeshore Drive.
A staged replacement of the Tiffin Street overpass is being proposed.
To minimize traffic impact on Highway 400 during construction, new northbound three-lane overpass structures will be built over Tiffin Street and BCRY, immediately adjacent on the east side of the existing structures.
Meanwhile, construction of the new Highway 400 bridge over Duckworth Street, a two-year project, is about to be completed. Highway 400 traffic will switch to the new bridge later this week and Duckworth Street will be closed in both directions at the Highway 400 bridge from Friday at 10 p.m. to Monday at 5 a.m.
Cundles Road, Bell Farm Road and St. Vincent Street will be used as the detour route. The Duckworth Street westbound ramp to the southbound Highway 400 ramp will also be closed and motorists can access the highway from Bayfield Street or Cundles Road East.
Work will continue to widen Cundles Road to five lanes and add bike lanes from Livingstone Street to Duckworth Street. Duckworth Street will also be widened to five lanes from Cundles Road to Bernick Drive/Rose Street.
Construction began in the fall of 2013 and is expected to be completed in late 2016 at an estimated cost of $42 million, a cost shared by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation, the federal government and the City of Barrie.
