Montée Principale, a road stretching from Azilda nothward, is now slated to have its most-travelled section, from MR 35 north to MR 15, rehabilitated within the next couple of years.
Originally scheduled for rehabilitation/resurfacing in 2027, Ward 4 Coun. Pauline Fortin introduced a successful motion during Monday’s operations committee meeting of city council to have it fast-tracked.
“It’s patch over patch over patch,” she told Sudbury.com after the meeting, adding that it’s a well-travelled stretch of road many people use to access Gateway Casinos or as a shortcut between the two municipal roads.
The road project will include Montée Principale’s full reconstruction from MR 35 to MR 15, including paved shoulders.
“In absolute terrible condition and cannot wait until 2027,” she told the committee. “It’s not just in poor condition, it has become unsafe for motorists and cyclists.”
The city’s original intention was to tackle roadwork on area arterial roads first, city engineering services director David Shelsted told the committee.
“There was some concerns where traffic would get diverted through Montée Principal if MR 15 was left without the needed road work,” he said, adding that reorganizing the city’s four-year capital project list for that area of the municipality should work out.
In addition to Montée Principale, the city is tackling two stretches of MR 15, including from 600 metres west of St. Laurent Street west to Montée Principale ($3.4 million) and Belisle Street west to 200 metres west of Dupont Street ($3.2 million).
“Staff is in support” of fast-tracking Montée Principale, Shelsted said. “We’re willing to do that deep dive into some of the technical stuff ... in order to reconsider the priorities.”
The approximately 3.6-kilometre rehabilitation/resurfacing work on Montée Principale from MR 35 to MR 15, will cost approximately $5.065 million, according to the city’s 2024-27 capital budget.
All-in, Fortin noted these road projects come in at more than $11 million and are a “great win for the citizens of Azilda.”
Approximately 4,500 vehicles use MR 15 per day, Shelsted said, while approximately 3,000 vehicles use Montée Principale.
The city’s 2024-27 capital budget totals $877.2 million, which averages out to $219.3 million annually and exceeds the 2019-23 annual average of approximately $160 million by 37 per cent. It’s aimed to help pare down the annual infrastructure spending gap of $130 million.
Although Fortin’s motion still needs to be ratified by city council as a whole, the operations committee’s unanimous support points to a likelihood it will be passed. Shuffling around these already-budgeted capital projects isn’t expected to add any additional cost to the projects.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
