THE INTERPROVINCIAL BRIDGE:
Why a bridge?
Today King Edward Avenue is the access route to the MacDonald Cartier Bridge and Gatineau from highway 417 AND 416. The NCC and the provinces have decided that Ottawa-Gatineau needs another bridge to alleviate truck traffic from downtown. The ROCHE-NCE study and the cities of Ottawa and Gatineau have identified the Kettle Island Corridor as the preferred location for such a bridge.
How will each bridge option reduce traffic in the downtown core?
According to the Roche-NCE report from the Phase 1 study, the forecasted truck traffic attracted to the crossings indicate that option 5 will attract 1725 vehicles per day while option 6 and 7 will attract 1625 and 1153 vehicles per respectively. Option 5 will reduce truck traffic most efficiently.
Phase 1 concluded that an interprovincial bridge crossing is needed to reduce truck traffic in the downtown core. Since most movement of goods between Ottawa and Gatineau is between the centres of each city, an additional bridge close to these areas will be more efficient than one located farther east of the two cities.
BRIDGE LOCATION, COST AND TRAFFIC IMPACT:
Where will the bridge be built?
Maps section provides a picture of each of the 3 options, Kettle Island and the 2 Greenbelt options with a full description of their exact location.
How much will this bridge cost?
The estimated costs for the bridge vary with each option. Kettle Island is estimated to cost $414M. Both Greenbelt options are more - Corridor 6 will be $18M more and Corridor 7 will be $132M more than the Kettle Island option. There will also be additional costs associated with the operating and maintenance of new infrastructure, over and above the existing infrastructure in Corridor 5.
It should be noted these are preliminary estimates. Somewhat improved estimates will be part of the Phase 2 EA. Final design estimates will be still more precise, but the true cost will be known only at construction completion.
Who will pay for this bridge?
The bridge itself will be funded by the federal government. The two provincial governments will fund the approach roads and connections to provincial highway networks. The two municipalities will fund any costs related to necessary upgrading of regional roads. These costs will depend on the option selected
How will the bridge connect to the existing road infrastructure?
The two Greenbelt options both join highway 174 east of the 417/174 split, about 700 meters east of the Rockcliffe Airport Parkway overpass. This is about halfway between the Jeanne d'Arc interchange and the Rockcliffe Parkway overpass of 174. On the Gatineau side, one of the Greenbelt options would connect to Boul. Lorrain, and the other would connect to Boul. de l'aéroport. Construction of access ramps and roads would involve almost all of the eastern portion of the Greenbelt. The Kettle Island Corridor would utilize the existing Aviation Parkway and in Gatineau would connect to boul Montee Paiement.
How will this affect the current traffic on the 174?
Currently the infrastructure, 174 and the 174/417 split, cannot meet the local commuting demands. Bumper to bumper traffic is common from Trim Road to the split, a distance of over 13 km. The projected population in Orleans alone is estimated to be over 125,000 by the time any bridge is built. Highway 174 would be planned to be upgraded to six lanes, but that is already required to accommodate existing peak hour traffic. The addition of trucks and commuters from Gatineau will simply overwhelm the infrastructure and drive bridge traffic onto residential streets.
PARTNERS & DECISION MAKERS
Who is responsible for building this bridge?
This project is a joint undertaking by the National Capital Commission (NCC), the Ministère des Transports du Québec (MTQ) and the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO), with technical support from the City of Ottawa and Ville de Gatineau.
Although the municipalities are participants in the process, they do not have any decision making power over the outcome.
Who has the final say on where the bridge will go?
Because this is a joint undertaking, there will need to be a consensus between all of the governments involved to proceed to construction. If this consensus is not reached, the project may not be able to go ahead.
What are the views of the cities of Ottawa and Gatineau on this bridge?
Both the cities of Ottawa and Gatineau voted in favour of the single corridor recommendation made by the consulting team of Roche-NCE for the next phase of the environmental study; that is the Kettle Island corridor.
When will this bridge be built and when will it be completed?
NCC expects that, following the completion of the EA Phase 2 in July 2012, all the environmental approvals will be in place by October 2013 at which point funding agreements, permits, design and construction plans will be finalized. The construction phase is estimated to take between 2 and 3 years
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT:
When will the EA be completed? Who is doing it and how long will it take?
Phase 1 of the Environmental Assessment is complete. The recommended corridor from that two year study was Kettle Island.
The NCC Board of Directors agreed to a request from the Ministries of Transport from Ontario and Quebec to add the two Greenbelt options to Phase 2 of the EA. This will add an additional one or two years to this phase and additional costs of $3 to $4 million.
The Terms of Reference for Phase 2 are currently being developed. By September 2009, a process for requesting proposals for this phase will be completed and a consultant selected. This phase of the Environmental Assessment will be completed by July 2012.
It appears probable that, as part of this process, an Environmental Assessment Review Panel will be convened to consider relevant inputs in a quasi-judicial forum. That Panel would provide guidance and/or direction to the NCC, who are managing the Phase 2.
OTHER OPTIONS:
Are the options of Petrie Island or Cumberland still being considered?
No, they were eliminated in the Phase 1 study
Some people are talking about a Canotek option? What is this option?
There was no Canotek Option considered in Phase 1. The assessment concluded that it was considered not feasible for two reasons: insufficient land for on and off ramps at the Montreal Road interchange and because of soil stability problems. For these reasons, it was NOT included in the Phase 1 Study and is NOT in the Phase 2 study.
LINKS:
Where can I find more information about the bridge?
NCC questions and answers on the Roche-NCE Environmental Assessment on the interprovincial crossings:
http://www.liaisonsrcn.ca/en/frequently_asked_questions.html
The Roche-NCE Interprovincial Crossings Study report:
http://www.ncrcrossings.ca/en/final_documentation.html
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