Pending final approval from the federal and provincial governments, Greater Sudbury will be four-laning more of Maley Drive than they originally planned.
The $80.1-million project is running about $4 million underbudget, and last spring, city staff signalled they may be able to extend the four-laning of the road, work that wasn't supposed to be completed until phase 2 sometime in the future.
“The section of Maley Drive between Barrydowne Road and Lansing Avenue is forecast to be the busiest section that is not being four-laned as part of the original scope,” said a staff report on the plan. “The construction of this section at this time will reduce the cost and scope of the future Phase 2 Maley Drive project, while providing immediate benefits of reduced congestion and improved traffic safety.”
The four lanes will connect the two new roundabouts on the roadway, one located at the corner Lansing, the other at Barrydowne.
City staff meet regularly with an oversight committee that includes federal and provincial representatives.
David Shelsted, the city's director of infrastructure capital planning services, told city council Tuesday evening that commitee members have said they are open to the added work, but cautioned that if the project goes overbudget, there will be no new money available from upper levels of government.
With council's blessing, Shelsted will now make a formal request to extend the project.
When completed, the Maley extension will complete the ring road around the city, meaning heavy ore and other trucks won't have to travel through town. It's expected to take thousands of vehicles off Lasalle Boulevard and the Kingsway each day, which has prompted the city to start looking for ideas to transform Lasalle into a more pedestrian/cycle friend roadway.
The first phase, worth $21 million, saw an interchange built and a realignment of Notre Dame Avenue and should be completed next month. The next phase, worth $44 million, builds the road from Frood Road to Barrydowne Road and should be completed in November 2019.
The last part of the project will rebuild Maley Drive from Barrydowne Road to the Falconbridge Highway, and it's also scheduled to be completed in November 2019.
