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City finalizes purchase of strip of land for Maley Drive extension

Councillors to formally approve transaction this week
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While there’s still some finishing work to be done in 2020 along the Maley Drive extension, Greater Sudbury has completed a key piece of businesses for the $80 million project: acquiring all the land.

As reported by Sudbury.com in October, a design change for Maley to ensure it was built on more suitable land directed the road onto property not owned by the city.

The roughly one-kilometre stretch was owned by Dalron Ltd., with whom the city was still negotiating, even as construction of the extension was proceeding.

On Tuesday, council will be asked to approve transfer of ownership of that property, which is proceeding under Section 30 of the Expropriations Act.

Under Section 30, the landowner consents to selling the land at a fair market price to be determined by the Local Planning Appeals Tribunal. The advantage is both parties avoid a drawn out process to determine fair compensation. Instead, the tribunal sets the price and the transaction proceeds as if the land had gone through the full expropriation process.

Maley opened to the public in late November, bringing roundabouts – three of them — to the city for the first time. A $4-million budget surplus also allowed more of Maley to be four-laned, from Barrydowne Road to Lansing Avenue.

The first phase, worth $21 million, saw an interchange built and a realignment of Notre Dame Avenue, and was completed last winter. The next phase built the road from Frood Road to Barrydowne Road and was completed this year. The last part of the project rebuilt Maley Drive from Barrydowne Road to the Falconbridge Highway.

The extension links Barrydowne Road to the Lasalle Extension near Collège Boréal. Now that it's open, the goal is to have heavy ore trucks avoid Lasalle Boulevard, MR80 and MR15, and reduce congestion and wear and tear on The Kingsway.

Big plans are in place to re-imagine Lasalle, long one of the busiest streets in the city and one expected to benefit most from reduced traffic.

Some finishing work will take place on Maley in 2020. A second phase would expand the new road, but no funding or timetable has been set for the next part. 


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Darren MacDonald

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