Abstract Manager

Ontario’s Highway 69 is a key route linking Northern and Southern Ontario which was identified to be upgraded from an existing two-lane undivided rural highway to a four-lane divided rural freeway as part of the Route Planning and Environmental Assessment for the Highway 69 Four-Laning. Highway 69 has been upgraded from both the north and south ends over the past two decades, and there is an approximately 68km stretch of two-lane undivided rural highway remaining between Parry Sound and south of the French River. MTO is currently within a engineering phase for this remaining portion.

The new proposed route for the next 20km section of Highway 69 four-laning south of French River ranges up to 1.5 km to the east of the existing highway and traverses through mainly naturalized areas including forest, rock barrens, wetlands, and features numerous river and lake crossings. The proposed route also crosses through a First Nation reserve. There are very few existing roads or trails connecting the existing and proposed Highway 69 which presents challenges to transport heavy equipment to the construction site. Additionally, several environmentally sensitive features are present in the area.

In order to facilitate construction access for the new proposed lanes, there is a need to build new or upgrade existing access roads within the corridor. This presentation will explore how potential access points were identified and how preferred access points were determined with consideration given to the existing terrain, cost, impact to overall construction schedule, type of equipment to be transported, environmental impacts and permitting implications, and First Nation considerations. Access road design criteria and design methodology will also be reviewed where the construction of new access roads was determined to be required. The presentation will also review the next steps for the access roads in the future detail design and construction phases of the project.