Barrie’s Bryne Drive South extension will officially open Friday, hooking up Harvie Road to Caplan Avenue.
The southern extension will have four through lanes (two in each direction), a two-way left-turn lane, buffered bike lanes and sidewalks on both sides.
This connection project supports the Harvie Road/Big Bay Point Road crossing over Highway 400, and will improve traffic flow across south Barrie.
It will also reduce traffic congestion at the Essa Road and Mapleview Drive interchanges by redirecting east-west traffic to the Harvie Road crossing.
The Bryne Drive South extension is about one-kilometre long and carries a cost of approximately $13.8 million, paid for from development charges and the city’s tax capital reserve.
Development charges are designed to recover the capital costs associated with residential and non-residential (commercial, industrial, institutional) growth within a municipality from developers, so that existing residents don’t have to foot the bill.
Bryne Drive's northern extension, which goes from Harvie to Essa, is still in the design stage. It’s to be a new five-lane road, with off-road bike lanes and sidewalks, along with a new sanitary sewer, new watermain and new stormwater management ponds.
This portion, stretching 800 metres, carries a total project cost of $21.9 million, also funded from development charges and taxes.
Mayor Alex Nuttall will officially open the Bryne Drive South extension on Sept. 27.
