North Perth Council heard a comprehensive assessment of a potential Listowel truck bypass on Monday night.
Manager of Operations, Matt Ropp, says the bypass was initially highlighted as a project of interest in the 2004 Master Transportation Plan.
Council has looked at the potential of the project over the years since, and on Monday, Ropp presented and went over a few key points to consider for the project, which is still a ways away from happening. One thing that was highlighted was road setup on current side roads that could be used for the bypass.
"Some of the roads that are identified as potential bypass roads are low traffic, low volume roads. They're not intended for higher volumes of traffic or even heavy loads such as transport trucks. So what does the width of the road or the design of the road look like? That's something we have to consider," Ropp stated.
Ropp adds that the bypass would need to be done in phases, likely 3 or 4, over a number of years if the project did eventually go ahead.
He says it's estimated that doing all those phases to make the bypass a reality would cost nearly $46 million, with phase 1 costing about $15 million alone.
Council was asked to endorse the project from a viability standpoint, but Ropp emphasizes that does not mean the project is getting started by any means right now or in the near future as things stand.
Additionally, Ropp noted that the comprehensive assessment presented to council this week had other key things to consider.
"Is there overhead hydro or utilities in the way on some of these roads? We looked at bridges and culverts, and if we're widening a road, do we also have to widen the bridges to go along with that to make that new road cross section work?" Ropp wondered.
One thing that was also highlighted was intersections on existing side roads that could make up the bypass.
"Some of these intersections along the current route where the bypass could go are 4-way gravel intersections. So are we looking at stop lights, roundabouts, turning lanes, those kind of things have to be thought out, too," he said.
There's also the process of getting the permits that would be required to get the project off the ground.
"Permits from the Ministry of the Environment, permits from the Ministry of Transportation, the conservation authorities, and just understanding the timelines of how long those take to get. The last thing that most people want to jump forward to is the total project cost, which is obviously substantial," Ropp concluded.
Ropp also emphasized again that council endorsing the need for the project does not at all mean it is being moved forward. He says with the cost attached to such a huge project, council over the next few years will need to find ways to lobby upper levels of government for funding and find ways to make the project financially doable before any work could get started.
