Stephenville Mayor Tom O'Brien likes a proposal by the province’s Department of Transportation that would see improvements to Route 460 and get rid of some multiple speed zones.
Mayor O'Brien was amongst a number of representatives from area communities that attended a meeting last week at the Holiday Inn in Stephenville with Transportation and Works Minister Tom Hedderson, along with local MHAs Joan Burke for St. George's-Stephenville East and Tony Cornect for Port au Port District.
Minister Hedderson told them of his department's plans to reconfigure the Hansen Highway from the rock cut near Gull Pond and reroute it across marshland and connect up with Route 490 at the intersection with Carolina Avenue that leads into what's know as ‘The Ramp.’
He said this would effectively put the speed limit for that section at 80 kilometres per hour whereas now there is a 50-km section through Noel's Pond and a 60-km section near Gull Pond up through the rock cut.
The work would involve straightening 1.3 km of road in the rock cut area for a total reconfiguration of 4.3 km. The plan as well provides for the decommissioning of parts of the current road and the possible removal of a current bridge in Noel's Pond to have a better flow of water and help alleviate flooding in that area.
Minister Hedderson said it's important for the people in the area to see the plan for the changes, especially the residents of Gull Pond and Noel's Pond, who will be most affected by them.
Towards that end, the Department of Transportation and Works will be holding a full day information session during the last week of July, which will be advertised.
"Groups and individuals are welcome and encouraged to come in and our representatives will answer any questions they have and look at any concerns. We're pretty sure this road will be a go; however, there is still a lot of work including engineering, environmental considerations and concept planning," the minister said.
He said construction could begin as early as next spring and getting this section of road done is obviously a priority for this department.
Minister Burke said this is the last piece of a five-year transportation plan that she and a committee with representatives from the area had devised and that next year there will be a new five-year plan developed and she already recognizes that in that plan the Gut Bridge in Stephenville Crossing needs work.
Minister Hedderson said their goal is to have smooth flowing traffic from the Trans Canada Highway to people's driveways and that a section of road through Black Duck Siding, where there is a 50-km speed limit, will be looked at in the future.
While he couldn't put a price tag on the work for rerouting the section of the Hansen Highway, he did say it will be substantial.
Mayor O'Brien said the roadwork on the Hansen Highway certainly needs to be done and it's good they are planning to move ahead with it, especially since it will relieve some of the flooding issues in Noel's Pond.
"I think had they planned to build up the road in the community of Noel's Pond it would have only made the flooding issues worst," he said.
Mayor O'Brien said the rerouting will make it a lot quieter for the residents of Noel's Pond and Gull Pond as they won't have the traffic passing by their doorsteps when its completed.
