KAWARTHA LAKES-The City is one step closer to possibly having a Fenelon Falls bypass after council approved an Environmental Assessment (EA) on the project.
The motion, which was approved at the September 24 council meeting, will look at a bypass on Highway 35 N to the Third Concession of Somerville which would include a new bridge. The estimate of the cost of the assessment and design is $1.4 million.
The motion was part of the budget preparation process where staff identified 2025 capital and special projects for which early-start approval.
Councillor Yeo voted against the motion saying some constituents don’t approve of the route and that council had not explored all options, particularly, utilizing the new $3 million bridge already built a few kilometres up the road and using Poulsom Road to get back to Highway 121.
“I don’t think anybody has ever alleviated some of the fears of the people who live on the Third Concession who don’t want this throughway going past their house. The only people who want this are the people downtown Fenelon Falls, the Fenelon Falls councillor and the Mayor so they are pushing, pushing, pushing.” said Yeo.
Mayor Elmslie supported the move.
“I think we need to approve this. I understand Councillor Yeo’s concerns and as we go forward with the EA I think there are opportunities to look at other alternatives and I have taken the opportunity to discuss a couple of them with Director Rojas and will continue to do so.”
The rationale for moving ahead with the assessment is the project to reconstruct the bridge linking Lindsay Street to Colborne Street. Officials say this is a multi-year project which will see that bridge reduced to one lane for at least two years and a pedestrian by-pass which may or may not be feasible. City staff feels the result, after downtown reconstruction and COVID, would negatively impact the business community. And, as yet, the City has no approvals from the Trent Severn Waterway for using their lands. It is therefore doubtful that the work would commence in 2025. Additionally, the bridge’s underpinnings had work completed in 2021, 2022 and engineering reports indicate no immediate concerns at this time.
Therefore, staff supported the Mayor’s Memo dated August 21, 2024 to the Budget Committee, “to proceed with the Fenelon by-pass from Highway 35 north to the third concession”. This would entail commencing the Environmental Assessment as an early start for the 2025 Budget.
A $2.9 million replacement of the Omemee Emily Ice Pad and $400,000 for renewal and redesign of the City websites also received early-start approval before budget deliberations began.
