Mainstreeter Staff
The completed “transportation environmental study report” for the replacement of the deteriorated Highway 417 Rideau Canal bridge has been delayed.
Previously, the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO) said the report would be finalized in the spring and there would be a 30-day public review period once the report was released in the summer, but at press time there still was no clarity from MTO as to when the report would be available.
“Generally speaking, the time needed for a review is tied to the number of comments that were received during the public posting period — and the complexity of the questions that are asked,” MTO responded to The Mainstreeter. “The Project Team works to develop responses to all the questions received before the final report can be finalized.”
The fundamental question from local residents on both sides of the Canal is why – after five years of consultation – the plans released late last fall had proposed a new strategy that would result in 90-week detours of both Colonel By Drive and Queen Elizabeth Driveway. The previous strategies that were consulted on required no significant detours.
