Making it quicker to travel from one end of Guelph to the other is going to happen. But nobody knows when.
The provincial government announced the next stage in the slow moving train that is the improving the functionality of the Hanlon Expressway on Friday.
Guelph MPP Liz Sandals said that detailed design work to improve the section of the expressway between Laird Road and the Speed River will be done over the next two years. But nobody knows when or even if those designs will be implemented or how much they will cost.
"Right now there is no timeline for the construction," said Ministry of Transportation senior project manager Charles Organ.
An environmental assessment was completed in 2009 and nothing has taken place between then and now as the province focused more on the planned Morriston bypass that will connect with the Hanlon one day.
The planned improvements for the Hanlon include removing the traffic lights at Kortright Road, Stone Road and College Avenue. Kortright will get a partial interchange, Stone Road will get a full interchange and College Avenue will get a bridge over the Hanlon and there will no longer be access to the expressway.
Depending on the day, between 25,000 and 45,000 vehicles currently use the Hanlon each day.
"Anybody that is in the south end of Guelph will tell you that if you want to get to the north end of Guelph, particularly early in the morning when people are going to work, that there's a tremendous back-up at Stone Road and the College Avenue light," Sandals said.
"The traffic at rush hour is getting to the point where it really does constrict traffic flow. We need to think about 'what are the next steps.'"
Sandals said there is a good chance the detailed plans, when they are implemented, will be done in stages.
The MPP was asked if it could be another 10 years before the shovels are in the ground.
"I would be surprised if it was that long because of the pressure on the roadway," she replied.
An engineering firm has been hired to do the detailed design. It will be followed by further environmental assessment work, Sandals said.
Several properties in the area, most notably on Hanlon Road, will eventually be affected, although until the design work is complete, which ones and how much remain to be seen.
