Faster and wider
Consultants have unveiled changes they are working on to the section of road near Hamilton’s airport. They include doubling the lanes, adding interchanges and increasing the posted speed by 30 km per hour on the short section of Highway 6 between Upper James and the 403 which passes through protected Greenbelt lands including multiple wetlands.
AECOM consulting was hired by the provincial Conservative government to “update the 1987 environmental assessment” of the road plans. But a two hour on-line presentation on September 19 had little to say about environmental changes over the last quarter century such as climate change, biodiversity loss and the establishment of the Greenbelt which includes a ‘finger’ of natural features bisected by the road. The presence of the Greenbelt was not mentioned in the AECOM presentation.
The consultants said their main purpose is to enhance connections to the airport and “support future growth”. Projected costs were not revealed, but they are to be borne by taxpayers not the airport or companies setting up warehouses in the area.
A major change calls for a full interchange where the highway crosses Book Road, plus another one beside the airport. Book Road is also to be widened by the city, according to AECOM. The road has been in the news as the centre of the 1800-acre removal* from the Greenbelt, but the consultants made no mention of that controversy. [*Reversed on September 21]
They didn’t provide any specific reasons why the Book interchange is considered necessary. Their presentation reviewed several options and acknowledged that the one recommended requires the most property and the highest cost.
They also noted several locations where they believe “curve flattening” is necessary to facilitate the expected 110 km speed limit. Each of these will require the province to acquire more land for the right-of-way. The total amount was not reported, but estimates of 3-4 metres were mentioned in the consultants’ presentation.
They also noted that the much higher speeds on the bypass will require “transition” measures at the intersection with the 80 km/hr Upper James including adding left and right turn lanes. Some changes near Upper James will also be needed because of changes to the Enbridge Line 10 oil and gas pipeline that have taken place in the last decade.
Provincial mapping shows at least 20 streams are crossed by the Highway 6 bypass, and several large wetlands are located along its route. These are particularly concentrated near Book Road, Butter Road and Garner Road. The protected Greenbelt area set up in 2005 extends along most of the bypass from east of Upper James to west of Book Road.
A controversial warehouse proposal next to the highway at Garner is currently before the Ontario Land Tribunal. The Hamilton Conservation Authority refused to allow the removal of a wetland and the developer has appealed the decision to the OLT.
AECOM’s on-line public information centre this week allowed written questions, but these were not visible to other participants. Some questions, chosen by AECOM, were addressed, but there was no response to the previously submitted Naturalists Club queries about the ecological impacts. AECOM promises it will respond individually to questions not replied to during the on-line consultation session.
