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Executive Summary

A Route Planning and Environmental Assessment Study for Highway 69, from the vicinity of the French River to Sudbury, was initiated by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO) in 1994. The study process was documented in an Environmental Assessment Proposal in 1995.

In the fall of 1995, the Route Planning Study for the section of Highway 69 from the French River to south of Estaire was postponed. The section from south of Estaire northerly to Sudbury was carried forward through to the end of preliminary design and was documented in the report Highway 69 Planning, Preliminary Design and Environmental Assessment, November 1999 (GWP 327-91-00).

The Route Planning and Environmental Assessment Study for Highway 69 for the section south of Estaire, to the French River was recommenced by the Ministry of Transportation, Northeastern Region in 2003.

The recommenced study is being carried out in sections. This report pertains to the section from approximately Estaire southerly to Highway 64 (GWP 5379-02-00), a distance of 21.5 km. The Route Planning Study for this section follows the Class Environmental Assessment (Class EA) process and serves as a continuation of the route planning process commenced in 1994.

INTRODUCTION

Purpose of Undertaking

The Ministry of Transportation has a mandate to provide transportation services for the people of Ontario. The mandate is to:

− Be a leader in providing a cost-effective transportation system that supports the Province’s economic, social and environmental objectives

− Provide the focal point for the identification of transportation needs for the people of Ontario

− Address transportation needs through the effective use of road, rail, transit, air and marine transportation systems and services

Problems and Opportunities

The problem statement outlines the reasons for initiating a study. This study was initiated for three reasons:

− Traffic is growing in the Highway 69 corridor and capacity improvements are needed

− Higher traffic volumes contribute to increased delay in travel and result in a reduction of traffic safety

− Accessibility for travel between Sudbury and Toronto must be addressed

Each problem presents an opportunity for MTO to take appropriate action to fulfill its mandate. The three problems and the opportunities they present are discussed in Section 1.2.1.

Study Process

The Environmental Assessment process requires a comprehensive planning procedure to identify alternatives, the associated environmental impacts, and plan for a solution that has minimum impact while addressing the project needs. This is undertaken in a five-stage planning process. The stages of the planning process are:

− Stage 1 – Project Initiation

− Stage 2 – Development of Highway Corridor Alternatives

− Stage 3 – Evaluation and Selection of Highway Corridor

− Stage 4 – Identification of Alternative Highway Routes within the Selected Corridor and Preliminary Design of a Preferred Route

− Stage 5 – Environmental Assessment Report

The study process is summarized in Section 1.6 and described in detail in the Study Design Report contained in Appendix A.

Consultation

The study process included a consultation program that spanned a nine-year period, from the start of the Route Planning process to confirmation of the Recommended Plan in 2004. The consultation program involved external ministries and agencies, First Nation contact, ongoing contact with the general public, interest groups and property owners. Public consultation is described throughout the main body of the report to illustrate how public input was taken into consideration in the decision-making process that led to the selection of a preferred corridor, then the preferred route within the corridor, and ultimately the Recommended Plan.

Consultation will continue in future study phases as described in Section 7.0.

Ecological and Watershed Management Planning

Responsible planning for new facilities such as a four-lane highway takes into consideration the goals of ecological and watershed management planning in the area. Although a watershed or ecosystem may encompass several political jurisdictions, the watershed areas provide the natural boundary for managing human uses of rivers, connected wetlands, woodlands, valley lands and floodplains and associated ecological functions.

The goal of ecological and watershed management planning is to provide a framework to protect, maintain and restore a healthy natural watershed system, while balancing environmental, social and economic requirements. It requires consideration of a number of factors at a much broader scale than the study area of a typical highway improvement or Route Planning Study.

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The methods by which ecological and watershed management planning were taken into consideration during specific stages of this Route Planning Study are described throughout this report. The importance of Ecological and Watershed Management Planning is discussed in greater detail in Section 1.8.

TRANSPORTATION NEEDS ASSESSMENT

Section 2.0 describes the first stage of the Route Planning process as initiated in 1994 and documented in the Highway 69 Planning, Preliminary Design and Environmental Assessment Report (GWP 327-91-00), dated November 1999.

Project Need and Justification

The need and justification for the improvements to the Highway 69 corridor between the French River area and Sudbury are:

− Traffic projections indicate that traffic growth on Highway 69 will require capacity improvements

− Traffic safety is affected on Highway 69 as there is a relationship between an increase in traffic volumes and an increase in the number of accidents

− There is a growth in development along the existing Highway 69 that requires access to the highway. Local accessibility and long distance/high-speed travel are conflicting transportation functions of the highway. This has an impact on traffic safety.

− There is an increasing travel demand between Northern Ontario (particularly the Sudbury area) and Southern Ontario (mostly the Greater Toronto Area). This connectivity is required in response to the existing transportation demand and as a stimulant to future economic development.

Traffic and road safety analysis that supports the need and justification for four-laning Highway 69 was originally established and is documented in detail in the Highway 69 Planning, Preliminary Design and Environmental Assessment Report (GWP 327-91-00), dated November 1999. This document provides a detailed description of the traffic growth analysis and levels of service considered at that time, as well as the highway geometrics, intersection analysis, traffic volumes and accident analysis carried out in the early stages of the Route Planning Study.

The update to Traffic Conditions, as carried out at the start of the recommenced Route Planning Study are described in Section 2.1.3.

Alternative Transportation Options

The Environmental Assessment Act requires that “all reasonable alternatives” be considered in a planning study. This involves two levels of analysis. The “Alternative to the Undertaking” study refers to a broad range of transportation alternatives that could address the transportation needs. Once the best transportation system is selected, the “Alternative Method of Carrying out the Undertaking” is studied. This involves the study of the various alignments and preliminary design concepts possible to address the deficiencies as described in Section 3.0.

The screening and evaluation of transportation options is described in Section 2.3.

Public input was sought on the “alternatives to the undertaking” at the first Public Information Centre held during the Route Planning process, in April 1995. A summary of the consultation program at this stage of the study is provided in Section 2.5.

EXISTING ENVIRONMENT

Existing conditions are described in Section 3.0.

Natural Environment

The study area boundaries used for planning and environmental assessment purposes included watershed and subwatersheds potentially affected by the new highway. Within this study area, baseline data was collected early in the Route Planning process (1994-1995) and was updated as a part of the recommenced study in 2003. The updating process included additional field investigations, air photo interpretation, collecting input from external agencies (i.e. MNR, Ontario Parks, etc.) and the public, as well as information obtained from databases including the Natural Heritage Information Centre (NHIC) and Natural Resources Value Information System (NRVIS). This information was taken into consideration in the evaluation of Corridor Alternatives as described in Section 4.0.

Information on the existing environment was used and presented to the public throughout the Route Planning process, at ever increasing levels of detail. After a Preferred Corridor was identified (as described in Section 4.5), more detailed environmental information was obtained within the Preferred Corridor, so that the evaluation of route alternatives within the corridor could take into consideration the environmental factors impacted by each route alternative.

During the recommenced Route Planning Study, environmental specialists carried out factor-specific environmental investigations to confirm fisheries resources, terrestrial resources (wildlife, vegetation and wetlands), economic and business activities, archaeological resources and noise sensitive areas within the study area. Their work, including methodology, scale and level of detail for their environmental investigations, was consistent with the requirements of the Class EA for Provincial Transportation Facilities as well as several approved protocols for dealing with Provincial highway projects such as the MNR/MTO Fisheries Protocol, MOE/MTO Noise Protocol and the Archaeological Protocol with the Ministry of Culture. The protocols are approved and agreed upon ways of dealing with the potential impacts of MTO undertakings in the Province of Ontario.

Socio/Economic Environment

The socio/economic environment in the study area is rural and generally undeveloped. The utilization of natural resources, including forest management and mineral resources, as well as cottage and tourism development represent major components of the local economy and opportunities for future growth. The expansion of Highway 69 is viewed as an important means of boosting economic development and tourism in the larger study area.

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Vermilion Forest Management Company Inc. administers forest management activities on Crown lands in the study area (i.e. from the French River to Estaire). They use several forest access roads in the study area to access forest management units.

A business impact study was carried out and is summarized in Section 3.2.3.

A major snowmobile Route (Trail “C”) runs on the west side of Highway 69 from the Parry Sound area to Sudbury and points further north. There is an existing snowmobile trail crossing Highway 69 in the vicinity of Crooked Lake Road. This crossing is for the T.O.P. Trail C206, that links the Trunk Trail “C” on the west side of Highway 69 to trails east of the study area, in St. Charles, Verner and North Bay.

The Department of National Defence (DND) owns and maintains approximately 2,800 ha of training land at Burwash. The site is near the north end of the study area and has access from the existing Highway 69 at Burwash Industrial Farm Road.

A noise impact study was carried out during the Route Planning Study. The Noise Impact Study analysed existing noise conditions and compared them to future noise levels expected from Highway 69 under a “do nothing” and the “Recommended Plan” scenario. The report is contained in Appendix H.

Cultural Environment

A Stage 1 and 2 Archaeological Assessment of the study area and Preferred Corridor was carried out in 2003 during the recommenced Route Planning Study.

Archaeological investigations concluded that there is no evidence of significant historic or pre-contact occupation within the study area. The Stage 1 and 2 Archaeological Assessment, dated January 2004, is contained in Appendix I.

Transportation

Existing Roads

There is one provincial highway connected to Highway 69 within the study area. Highway 637 connects to Highway 69 and extends westerly to Killarney and Killarney Provincial Park, on the shores of Georgian Bay west of the study area.

Several local roads within the study area connect to Highway 69 and provide access to small residential and cottage communities located on both sides of Highway 69. Local Road Boards administer these local roads. They are (from north to south):

− Burwash Industrial Farm Road

− Lovering Lake Road

− Murdock River Road

− Crooked Lake Road

There are also a number of forest access roads that are used by forest management companies to access Crown lands in the study area. MNR has indicated that it is of major importance that access to forestry roads be maintained.

Railways

Canadian Pacific Railway’s (CPR) Parry Sound Subdivision parallels Highway 69 on the east side of the existing highway throughout the study area.

The four-lane highway does not cross the CPR line.

Horizontal Alignment

There are 22 horizontal curves on Highway 69 within the project limits. Two curves are substandard for a 110 km/h design speed.

Vertical Alignment

There are 39 vertical curves on Highway 69 within the project limits, 20 crest and 19 sag curves. All twenty of the crest curves do not meet the minimum standard (K=90) for a design speed of 110 km/h but exceed the requirements (K=50) for the posted speed of 90 km/h. Eight of the sag curves do not meet the minimum standard (K=50) for a design speed of 110 km/h. Five of these do not meet the requirements (K=40) for the posted speed of 90 km/h.

Cross Section

Highway 69 has the following cross-section elements:

− Pavement width: 7.2± m (two lanes at 3.6± m each)

− Shoulder width: variable up to 3.0 m

− Shoulder rounding: 1.0 m

Shoulder rumble strips exist throughout the limits of the project except from Station 16+100, Servos Township (just north of the “S-curve”) to the north limits of the project at Station 11+800, Burwash Township.

Right-of-Way

The existing Highway 69 right-of-way is generally 91.4 m (300 feet) wide throughout the study area. The right-of-way is wider for approximately 2.2 km to accommodate the existing Truck Inspection Facilities in Servos Township.

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Structures

There is an existing 7.3 metre wide by 3.65 m high concrete arch culvert located at the Murdock River crossing (Station 11+050 Delamere/Cox Township). There are no other existing structures located within the study area.

Utilities

Existing Hydro and Bell plant are located within the Highway 69 corridor. There is an existing Hydro crossing of Highway 69 located at Station 18+800 Delamere/Cox Township.

Traffic

OPERATIONS

The existing year 2000 traffic volumes (AADT) on this section of Highway 69 range from 6,000 to 6,300 vpd. Summer traffic volumes (SADT), ranging from 8,350 to 9,150 vpd, are 86 to 110% higher than the winter traffic volumes (WADT), ranging from 4,350 to 4,500 vpd. Average annual commercial traffic ranges from 800 to 890 vpd. The existing level of service for this section of Highway 69 is D.

The projected mainline traffic volumes for this section of Highway 69 are summarized in Table 1. These forecasts are based on projected linear growth in traffic based on historical traffic counts.

TABLE 1: SUMMARY OF PROJECTED TRAFFIC VOLUMES ON HIGHWAY 69

Time Period of Analysis Location LHRS Reference, Road Name

2004 2014 2024

35550—0.0 Highway 64 AADT 6,200 6,800 7,400 SADT 8,600 9,500 10,300 DHV 790 860 940 PHV 820 900 980 % Comm 13.3%

AR 0.7 (PAR 0.7) * 35560—0.0 Secondary Highway 637 LOS D D D 35560—0.0 Secondary Highway 637 AADT 6,800 8,200 9,500

SADT 9,500 11,400 13,200 DHV 860 1,040 1,210 PHV 970 1,160 1,360 % Comm 14.2%

AR 1.0 (PAR 0.7) * 35570—0.0 Nepewassi Lake Road LOS D E E * AR (Accident Rate) and PAR (Provincial Accident Rate) are the 5-year average

ending with the base year of the data (1996 to 2000). AR’s are calculated for only the portion of the highway that lies within the limits of the project.

COLLISIONS

There were 202 collisions on this 21.5 km section of Highway 69 during the five-year period from 1996 to 2000.

CORRIDOR ALTERNATIVES

Rationale for and Description of Corridor Alternatives

The rationale for and description of transportation corridor alternatives are described in Section 4.1.

Within the study area, there are numerous possible locations for a new transportation corridor. The function of the corridor selection process was to eliminate the less desirable locations. This was done through the identification of physical constraints (i.e. steep slopes, bedrock ridges, and lakes) and environmental constraints (i.e. deer/moose feeding areas, highly sensitive fisheries resources, etc.).

Evaluation of Corridor Alternatives (1994 to 1995)

Section 4.2 includes a full description of the evaluation of corridor alternatives that was carried out early in the Route Planning process and the public consultation that took place at that time.

Public input was sought from a Community Liaison Team (CLT) and members of the public on the corridor selection criteria, assessing environmental impacts and defining potential impacts, and on the weighting of importance of evaluation criteria.

Using input received from the public and CLT, an initial screening of corridor alternatives was completed. The corridor alternatives to be carried forward for a more detailed evaluation were presented, to the public at a Public Information Centre (PIC) held in September 1995.

Project Temporary Suspension (1995) and Recommencement (2003)

In October 1995, all work on this project was suspended at the completion of the screening of corridor alternatives. At the time of the project suspension, a letter was mailed to all the individuals on the project mailing list informing them of the project’s suspension and thanking them for their participation in the study.

In the spring of 2003, the Route Planning Study for Four-laning Highway 69 from Estaire to Highway 64 was recommenced along with other Route Planning Studies between Estaire and Nobel. The study recommencement was announced in newspapers in July 2003 and through correspondence to external agencies, property owners and the general public who had previously shown an interest in the study. In addition, a project Web Site was established at highway69.ca to provide ongoing information on the Highway 69 Route Planning Studies.

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Corridor Alternatives Carried Forward for Evaluation

When the Route Planning Study was recommenced in 2003, the transportation corridors that had previously been identified to be carried forward for evaluation were redrawn on new base maps of the study area. The corridor alternatives and secondary source environmental information are shown on Exhibit 8.

The corridor alternatives are 300 metres wide and are intended to accommodate alternative route alignments and sideroad or service road connections within each corridor.

The corridor alternatives and evaluation process are described in Section 4.4.

Preferred Corridor

The Preferred Corridor is shown on Exhibit 9 and described in Section 4.5.

The Preferred Corridor followed the existing highway corridor from the south study limit to north of the Murdock River, where it became a new alignment east of the existing Highway 69 until Burwash Industrial Farm Road. From Burwash northerly, the Preferred Corridor followed the existing Highway 69 corridor to the north project limit.

The main advantages of the Preferred Corridor in this study area are:

− It provides safety improvements at Rock Bay by replacing the existing “S-curve” with large radius curves that achieve the full freeway design standard

− It facilitates use of the existing highway as a service road for access to the areas around Rock Bay and the Burwash lands

− There is the potential to use sections of the existing highway as part of the four-lane facility

− It results in minimal impacts to the natural environment

− There is the potential for interim improvements at the “S-curve”

The Preferred Corridor was presented to the public and external agencies at PICs held in October 2003.

Input received on the Preferred Corridor is described in Section 4.6.

ROUTE ALTERNATIVES

Section 5.0 of the report provides a description of the process that was used to identify a Preferred Route for the future four-lane Highway 69, including interchange configurations and side road or service road connections to the four-lane highway, within the Preferred Corridor.

Rationale and Description of Route Alternatives

Four types of route alternatives were identified within the Preferred Corridor. They are:

− New alignment on the west side of the existing highway

− Twinning on the west side (using existing highway for northbound traffic)

− Twinning on the east side (using existing highway for southbound traffic)

− New alignment on the east side of the existing highway

Evaluation of Route Alternatives

The evaluation of route alternatives, including a description of the evaluation process and criteria is described in Section 5.2.

The environmental and geotechnical/foundation information available from the field investigations carried out within the Preferred Corridor was used to confirm which route alternatives had more impacts on engineering and environmental factors in specific areas.

After a Preferred Route for the four-lane highway was identified, interchange configurations at Crooked Lake Road and Highway 637 were developed, analyzed and evaluated. The evaluation of interchange alternatives is described in Section 5.2.4.

Local road and land use connections to the interchanges are described in Section 5.2.4.

Preferred Route

Section 5.3 describes the Preferred Route, including interchange configurations and side road connections.

The Preferred Route involves twinning of the existing highway and a section of new alignment from the south project limits to just north of Crooked Lake Road. The Preferred Route then crosses the eastern end of Ink Lake (at the existing highway) before it takes on a new alignment east of Highway 69. The four-lane highway crosses the Murdock River on two new bridges, approximately 100 metres east of the existing highway. It continues northerly on a new alignment, across the watercourse between Lovering Lake and Rock Bay, at a location that is approximately 500 metres east of the existing highway at Lovering Lake Road. North of Highway 637, the four-lane highway remains on a new alignment and parallels the existing highway for approximately 3.5 kilometres, at a distance of over 500 metres east of the existing Highway 69. It rejoins the existing highway corridor, just north of the intersection at Burwash Industrial Farm Road, beyond which it ties into the adjacent study area to the north with a twinning on the east alignment. At Trout Lake Road, the Preferred Route connects to the new alignment west of Estaire.

The Preferred Route includes interchanges at Crooked Lake Road and at Highway 637.

The Preferred Route was presented to the public and external agencies in March of 2004. Public and agency input received on the Preferred Route is described in Section 5.4.

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RECOMMENDED PLAN

Horizontal Alignment

The proposed four-lane Highway 69 alignment is approximately 20 km in length and passes through the Geographic Townships of Cox, Servos and Burwash. The alignment consists of nine horizontal curves, eight with a radius of 1700 metres and one with a radius of 3600 metres.

At the south limit of the project the alignment matches GWP 5378-02-00 (Route Planning and Environmental Assessment) with a west-side twinning of the existing highway. From this point the alignment is a west-side new alignment for approximately 2 km northerly, which was developed to accommodate construction staging. The remaining 18 km of the proposed four-lane Highway 69 is basically a new alignment to the east of existing Highway 69, with two short sections of east-side twinning located south of Crooked Lake Road and south of the Murdock River. The alignment ties into existing Highway 69 at the north project limit with an east-side twinning, which matches GWP 312-99-00 (Detail Design).

The Recommended Plan for a four-lane Highway 69 is illustrated on Exhibit 1.

Vertical Alignment

In general terms, the vertical alignment for the new Highway 69 was developed to fit the existing terrain, and to provide a preliminary design cut/fill quantity balance. Long tangent sections have been provided where practical to avoid a “roller coaster” type of profile. The horizontal and vertical alignments were coordinated where practical, to avoid the situation where a horizontal curve is “hidden” from the driver’s view by a short vertical crest curve.

The minimum requirements for the vertical alignment are K-120 for crest curves and K-60 for sag curves, which corresponds to the Design Speed of 120 km/h for Highway 69. However, each of the vertical curves was examined to determine the impacts of providing a curve parameter that uses the same parameters that would apply for a 140 km/h design speed. In all cases, the design speed of 140 km/h can be achieved with minimal additional impacts. Therefore, a K-180 for crest curves and a K-80 for sag curves have been provided as a minimum for the vertical alignment of Highway 69.

Where a crest curve coincides with an interchange, a larger K value is required to achieve the minimum sight distance (object height = 0.0 m) of 470 m to the exit bullnose and to the end of speed change lane tapers.

Cross-Section

Highway 69 will be a four-lane Rural Freeway Divided highway. The cross-section includes two lanes in each direction (each lane 3.75 m wide) and fully-paved shoulders consisting of a 1.5 m wide left shoulder (widened to 2.5 m in guide rail areas), 3.0 m wide right shoulder, and 1.5 m shoulder roundings. The cross-section grading for Highway 69 will be designed to provide gentle and traversable slopes to minimize roadside hazards and guide rail requirements.

Interchanges

Highway 69 will be a fully-controlled access freeway. Interchanges will be provided at Crooked Lake Road and Highway 637. All interchange ramps are single lane ramps with a 4.75 m wide lane, a 1.0 m wide fully paved left shoulder, a 2.5 m wide fully paved right shoulder, and 1.0 m shoulder roundings. All sight distance requirements including decision sight distance to exit bullnoses on the crossing road will be achieved within the interchange. The grading of the interchange ramps will be designed to provide gentle and traversable slopes to minimize roadside hazards.

The interchange at Crooked Lake Road is a Parclo A-2 configuration on the west side, with the Crooked Lake Road extension intersection located directly opposite to the ramp terminals. The east side of the interchange is a diamond configuration due to physical constraints (i.e. the proximity of the rail tracks). This interchange will provide access to recreational properties to the west and to forest management lands and a communications tower to the east.

A Parclo A-2 interchange at Highway 69 and Highway 637 will provide access to Killarney and recreational properties to the west. A Service Road intersection is located on the west side of Highway 69, directly opposite the ramp terminals. The Service Road utilizes part of existing Highway 69 to provide access to Rock Bay, Lovering Lake and forest management lands within the study area. A W-S direct ramp can be added to this interchange in the future (i.e. to provide a full Parclo A-4 configuration). This will require of the relocation of the Service Road to the west.

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Structures

There are ten new major structures within the study area. The structure locations, types and size are summarized in Table 2.

TABLE 2: SUMMARY OF MAJOR STRUCTURES

Structure No. Location Description Twin Type Spans Length (m) COX TWP

1 14+760 Crooked Lake Road Extension Underpass

N Slab-on-CPCI Girder

2 81

SERVOS TWP 2& 3 11+000 Murdock River

Crossing Y Slab-on-CPCI

Girder 4 150

4 & 5 12+070 Forest Access Road Overpass

Y Concrete Rigid Frame

1 20

6 & 7 14+195 Lovering Lake Road Overpass

Y Concrete Rigid Frame

1 14

8 & 9 14+415 Lovering Creek Crossing

Y Slab-on-CPCI Girder

1 40

10 15+955 Highway 637 Interchange Underpass

N Slab-on-CPCI Girder

2 77

There are four large culvert structures required at two locations. These structures will be rectangular concrete culverts that provide an opening to accommodate snowmobile trail and wildlife corridor crossings under the proposed four-lane Highway 69. A snowmobile trail crossing is proposed in the vicinity of Crooked Lake Road and a wildlife eco-passage crossing is proposed north of Highway 637.

Two wildlife eco-passage crossings (small culverts) are also provided at the edges of Sheppard Lake and wetland as shown on Exhibit 1c.

Service Roads, Side Road Extensions, Local Access Roads and Entrances and Truck Inspection Faculties

The Recommended Plan includes service roads, sideroad realignments and extensions, and local access roads to maintain access to various existing land uses within the study area. The specific details are discussed below:

− A 1.8 km long Service Road from Highway 637 southerly to Murdock River Road and Lovering Lake Road to provide access to recreational properties at Lovering Lake, Rock Lake and Murdock River

− A Service Road from Highway 637 northerly 2.9 km to provide access to properties on existing Highway 69, including the Burwash Military Facility

− Crooked Lake Road will be realigned and extended to the north to a new interchange with Highway 69 to provide access to recreational properties on Crooked Lake

− Lovering Lake Road will be realigned to cross under and perpendicular to Highway 69 to maintain access to the recreational properties on Lovering Lake

− Forest Access Roads will be provided at the Crooked Lake Road interchange to provide access to forest management lands and a communications tower on the east side of Highway 69

− The existing Highway 69 will be utilized as a forest access road from Murdock River Road and Lovering Lake Road southerly to the Murdock River

The existing entrances on Highway 69 will be removed to accommodate the Recommended Plan. There will be no entrances permitted directly on the four-lane Highway 69. Access will be provided by Service Roads and Access Roads that connect to the interchanges.

New Truck Inspection Facilities will be provided for the northbound and southbound lanes in the vicinity of Station 21+700 Servos Township.

Construction Staging and Traffic Management Plan

The study area may be divided into smaller sections for detail design and contract preparation. The suggested contract limits are:

− Phase 1: from 3.9 km south of Highway 637 to 0.1 km south of Highway 637, 3.8 km

− Phase 2: from 0.1 km south of Highway 637 to 9.3 km north of Highway 637, 9.4 km

− Phase 3: from 4.5 km north of Highway 64 to 3.9 km south of Highway 637, 8.8 km

Phase 1 will provide a new 2-lane undivided highway that uses a section of the ultimate NB lanes to improve the existing “S-curve” at Rock Bay. Temporary connections will be required to connect the existing 2-lane highway to the new 2-lane highway at the north and south limits of this construction phase

Additional construction staging and detour requirements for each phase are included in Section 6.1.8.

Property

Property will be required to provide a minimum right-of-way width of 110 metres for the four-lane Highway 69. Additional property is required at interchanges, in areas of high fills, deep cuts and through wetland areas. Property will also be required to construct the Highway 637 realignment, the new Service Road connections, the Crooked Lake Road realignment and the Lovering Lake Road realignment.

With the exception of four privately owned properties, the property required for the Recommended Plan is Crown land.

Utilities

Utility relocations will be required to accommodate the new four-lane Highway 69, interchanges and sideroads. Approximately 4.3 km of overhead Hydro and 9.3 km of overhead Bell (copper and fibre optic) will be relocated.

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Geotechnical and Foundations

The following Geotechnical and Foundation studies were completed during the study:

− Alternative Route Assessment—a review of available information and field reconnaissance to verify geological conditions within the study area

− Swamp Investigations—to confirm swamp extents for the Preferred Route

− Preliminary Foundation Investigations—to confirm subsurface conditions at the proposed structure locations

Road Closings and Transfers

The following road closures and realignments are required within the project limits:

TABLE 3: SUMMARY OF ROAD CLOSINGS

Road Name Jurisdiction Description and Location Comments Crooked Lake Road Private Existing at-grade intersection with

Highway 69 Crooked Lake Road will be extended northerly and realigned to cross over Highway 69 at an interchange.

Highway 637 MTO Existing at-grade intersection with Highway 69

Highway 637 will be realigned to cross over Highway 69 at an interchange.

Highway 69 MTO Existing Highway 69 from Murdock River to Lovering Lake Road/Murdock River Road

This section of Highway 69 will be made available to be used as a Forest Access Road

Highway 69 MTO Existing Highway 69 from approximately 3 km north of Highway 637 to Burwash

This section of Highway 69 will be made available to be used as an Access Road

There are no unopened road allowances within the project limits.

Crooked Lake Road is a private road maintained by the owners. Crooked Lake Road and the proposed Service Roads are within unorganized townships so there is no local municipality to accept the ownership of these roads. The Ministry will continue discussions with the Rock Lake Local Roads Board (Rock Lake Owner’s Association), which now maintains Lovering Lake Road and Murdock River Road, to maintain the Service Roads.

Preliminary Cost Estimate

The estimated cost of the Highway 69 four-laning within the study area is approximately $119 Million.

Environmental Impacts and Mitigation

Environmental impacts and mitigation are described in Section 6.2.

The Recommended Plan will result in some impacts to the natural environment. They include potential impacts to fisheries resources, vegetation, wetlands and wildlife. Environmental specialists reviewed the Recommended Plan, carried out an assessment of impacts and have recommended mitigation measures as described in Section 6.2.

There are a number of watercourses with fisheries resources that could be potentially impacted. The most sensitive area is the western end of Sheppard Lake, where wetland area will be lost for the construction of the future highway. This area is considered to be a spawning area for northern pike and likely provides other habitat values for additional fish species. Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) involvement is expected to be required at this location.

The Sheppard Lake area is also the site of some vegetation that is sensitive to changes in water levels. Additional fisheries, vegetation and wetland design work is recommended during Detail Design in this area.

Wildlife mitigation includes the provision of several new opportunities for wildlife crossings perpendicular to and under the future four-lane highway. New crossing opportunities are included in the Recommended Plan at Murdock River, where the valley is spanned by two new bridges, the watercourse between Lovering Lake and Rock Bay, where single-span bridges will span the watercourse through the deer concentration and moose wintering area, and eco-passageways (i.e. tunnels) north of Highway 637 beside a watercourse crossing, and two box culverts at Sheppard Lake, for reptile and small mammal movement.

Fencing will be required on both sides of Highway 69 from Sheppard Lake to Lovering Lake to encourage use of the wildlife tunnels. Wildlife crossing design details will be confirmed through discussions with MNR during Detail Design.

The noise study found that noise levels at the seasonal residences immediately east of the four-lane highway at Lovering Lake would increase. Although mitigation is not warranted in accordance with the MOE/MTO Noise Protocol, opportunities to reduce highway noise (i.e. through pavement design and landscape design) will be reviewed during Detail Design. Opportunities for visual screening of the new highway, from the cottages will also be considered.

ROUTE PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT REPORT HIGHWAY 69 FOUR-LANING, from Highway 64 to Estaire GWP 5379-02-00

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

September 2004 xv Stantec Consulting Ltd.

External Agency and Public Input

The Recommended Plan was presented to the public at a PIC held in June 2004. Input received is provided in Section 6.3.

FUTURE CONSULTATION AND SUMMARY OF IDENTIFIED CONCERNS, MITIGATING MEASURES AND FUTURE COMMITMENTS

Section 7.0 provides a description of future consultation and a Summary of Identified Concerns, Mitigating Measures and Future Commitments, in Table 56.

MONITORING

On-site construction supervisory staff will conduct monitoring to ensure that environmental protection measures, as outlined in this report and carried through to the contract package, are implemented. This includes making sure that the implementation of mitigating measures and key design features is consistent with commitments made prior to construction.