The Town of Renfrew and Ministry of Transportation will go ahead with the open phase of realigning Whitton Road.
Council agreed to a pair of engineering contracts on Tuesday night, which Town Planner Eric Withers explains will get the first thirty percent of planning underway for connecting the exit of Whitton Road to Innovation Drive.
It’s a new wrinkle in the upcoming Highway 417 expansion, which will allow for the safe flow of traffic heading towards Ottawa.
The $201,000 agreement is the first phase of two required for planning out the realignment. The town had pushed for the planning to be funded in one package, but the MTO requested that they re-engage on the second portion of funding ahead of construction.
The MTO will fund around 71.5%, or around $143,000, of the $201,000 commitment, which will cover everything except for water and wastewater services, which will have to be covered by the town.
Withers also let council know that there would be around 148 acres of town-owned property in that area that would open up due to the realignment, which they plan to get expressions of interest in for development on.
The total cost of this phase of the Whitton Road realignment comes in at a total of $338,820.10, including HST.
(written by Kasey Egan)