Overpass to Help Ease Traffic Pressure in Barrie’s South End
Upcoming areas in Barrie on the East end of Mapleview Drive and South End of Essa Road will find relief with a new overpass to cross Highway 400.
Barrie’s congested south end will soon be getting some much-needed relief in the form of an overpass crossing over Highway 400, linking Big Bay Point Road to Harvie Road.
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Anyone who has traveled through the area in the last decade can describe first-hand how gridlocked both the east end of Mapleview Drive and the south end of Essa Road have become. As the city’s growth continues to add pressure to the area’s transportation infrastructure, traffic in the south end is quickly reaching critical mass.
Barrie City Council has recently agreed to fast-track the two-year project which could begin as early as 2018. The concept for the overpass is not new; it has been identified in Barrie’s transportation plans for almost 20 years, and local businesses and citizen groups have been lobbying council to make it a priority for years. Likewise, the city has been reaching out to the province for approval.
Residents and businesses alike should be pleased to hear that the project is finally moving forward, and that council recognizes the need to get it done sooner rather than later.
As stated in a recent news report from CTV, the city will have to purchase land from 12 different property owners, and the project will cost a grand total of $35 million when all is said and done. Relevant landowners are in property acquisition talks with the Ministry of Transportation (MTO). A spokesman for the Ministry, Astrid Poei, has stated that they prefer to operate on a “willing seller/willing buyer basis, that’s the first step” and that they would only move on to expropriation “if things escalate.”
According to Barrie Mayor Jeff Lehman, the planned bridge is designed to accommodate 10 lanes of highway to support future expansion. The MTO has plans to widen parts of Highway 400 through the area to 10 lanes as part of their five-year Southern Highways Program, and future continued expansion is likely as the area continues to grow.
Motorists can expect a steady stream of construction along this north-of-the-GTA stretch over the next few years as a number of projects have been scheduled to help alleviate traffic and update aging infrastructure. It is confirmed that the highway is being expanded to 10 lanes near King Road, and there is additional bridge/interchange work being done in Bradford West Gwillimbury and Innisfil beginning in 2019. Other bridges in the area being overhauled as part of the Ministry’s five-year plan include bridge/interchange work at Essa Road, Dunlop Street, and Sunnidale Road.
Barrie is one of the fastest growing communities in Simcoe County, if you’re thinking of moving to the area or interested in the current value of your Barrie home, contact our team for a one-on-one conversation.