There’s no guarantee yet of construction but at least now the District of Houston has an idea of what the provincial transportation ministry has in mind to ease traffic worries at the intersection of Tweedie and Hwy. 16.
Presented to council March 2 was a ministry concept plan calling for two left-hand dedicated turn lanes, one heading eastbound on Hwy. 16 turning left onto Tweedie and the second heading northbound, turning left onto Hwy. 16.
Each of the lanes would have pedestrian sidewalks and pedestrian islands, the latter being locations on which pedestrians and cyclists would pause safely until conditions permit continued transit.
Such contemplated construction would also require land to be purchased on the southwest and southeast corners of the current intersection, noted District of Houston operations manager Chris Lawrence in a briefing note to council.
The District does have water, sanitary and storm infrastructure there but because it is all underground little or no disturbance is expected, he said. But catch basins may need to be moved because of new drainage patterns following construction.
Lawrence did note, however, that the infrastructure underground is at least 50 years old and “a condition assessment may be necessary for this location prior to any proposed large-scale construction to help inform the District’s planning decisions.”
The District first began lobbying the provincial government for better and safer access to and from the industrial park at that location in 2016. The closeness of the CN tracks there can make for challenging transit for larger commercial vehicles.
This intersection is one of three locatioins in which the District has been pushing for road and rail transit and safety improvements over the years. Where North Nadina meets Hwy. 16 is also on the District’s list when it meets with provincial officials while the Benson Ave. rail crossing is tops on the District’s list when it meets with CN officials.
Specific to Tweedie and Hwy. 16 intersection, council has long been lobbying for improvements to upgrade the exit from the eastbound lanes onto Tweedie to include a dedicated off-ramp, without restricting eastbound traffic continuing on Hwy. 16, and installing a meridian between the eastbound lane and the southbound exit on Hwy. 16 West.
Council further envisioned upgrading the exit from the southbound lanes onto Hwy. 16 West, Tweedie Avenue North, and Hwy. 16 East to include dedicated lanes for each intersection.
Vehicles exiting onto Tweedie Avenue North and Hwy. 16 East from Tweedie Avenue currently share the same lane, creating a fairly significant bottleneck.
District of Houston chief administrative officer Gerald Pinchbeck said the District has not yet explored costs “as this design is for information only, and would be subject to confirmation with the [transportation] ministry as to whether it wishes to proceed.”
The transportation ministry, in a provided statement, also said it had not advanced the Tweedie project to the stage of estimating costs nor commiting a budget for construction.
“The ministry is working closely with the District of Houston on their priorities for improvements along Highway 16 going through Houston. We are mindful that many people travel this route and we are always looking for ways to enhance safety and to reduce delays for travelers,” it said.