Jul 31, 2015
Oakville Beaver
The federal government is partnering with the province to make traffic flow more efficient on Burloak Drive, along the border of Burlington and Oakville.
Oakville MP Terence Young and Pickering-Scarborough East MP Corneliu Chisu announced Friday that the federal government and the province would invest around $35-million to pay for the construction of an underpass, which will carry traffic underneath the Lakeshore West GO Train line.
With GO trains currently blocking traffic on Burloak Drive every 30 minutes and plans in place to eventually have GO trains on the line running every 15 minutes, Young noted this is an important infrastructure investment to make.
“I drive by here everyday, once or twice. As I understand it, this is one of the busiest level crossings in Canada,” said Young.
“Sometimes I’ve counted 100 cars here waiting for a train to go by during the morning or evening rush hour. I am very pleased this is happening. It means improved safety for commuters and lets people get around more easily.”
A construction start date, or project timeline for the Burloak Drive underpass remain unclear at this time with Metrolinx officials noting an environmental assessment for the project still needs to take place.
“Our unprecedented public transit investments are making transit a better choice for commuters,” said Ontario Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca in a press release.
“This is further proof of our government’s commitment to making the daily commute more convenient and the quality of life better for Ontario families.”
The Burloak Drive underpass is one of four projects receiving funding from the federal government’s New Building Canada Plan.
Additional overpasses and underpasses are being funded along the Lakeshore East GO Train Line in Toronto at Scarborough Golf Club Road, Galloway Road and Morningside Avenue.
Under this infrastructure investment plan the federal government has selected this underpass/overpass project for funding consideration of up to $100 million.
The Government of Ontario will be responsible for all remaining $100 million cost of the project.
Young said the New Building Canada Plan is the largest and longest federal infrastructure plan in Canada’s history.
The plan is scheduled to provide $53 billion to support provincial, territorial and municipal infrastructure, between 2014 and 2024.
Over this 10-year period Ontario is expected to receive around $11 billion in dedicated federal funding, including almost $2.7 billion under the New Building Canada fund.
