Ignore the rumours, 404 won't open before September: ministry

Aug. 25, 2014
yorkregion.com
By Heidi Riedner

While local commuters and politicians may be eyeing the Hwy. 404 extension’s on ramp with anticipation, the Transportation Ministry is still looking at a fall opening before traffic is good to go.

Quick on the heels of cyclists and pedestrians being the first to step foot on the 13-kilometre extension during a “Beat the Traffic” charity event for Southlake Regional Health Centre’s hospital foundation Aug. 17, talk of the highway being open to vehicles as early as this week hit the street.

But a spokesperson for the MTO said September is still the anticipated target for opening the highway extension to traffic.

“Our estimates are still a September opening if everything stays on course,” Astrid Poei said Friday, adding there are still several issues related to paving and landscaping that need to be addressed.

Inclement weather and resulting “construction progress dependant” work would be the reason for any delay in the final leg of completion, Ms Poei said.

In addition, the estimated 50,000 commuters from Georgina and East Gwillimbury who make the daily trek south for work most likely won’t have any formal ceremony accompanying the highway’s opening other than the current barricades and pylons being lifted, which is typical of most roadways across the province, Poei said.

The ministry opens highways all the time and “openings” are everyday business Poei said, adding the provincial office is well aware of and respects the importance of the transportation artery the extension represents and how highly anticipated it is.

“We are just as eager,” she said.

Under construction since July 2010, the four-lane extension between Green Lane in the south and Ravenshoe Road in Keswick was originally supposed to be completed by December 2012.

Soil and utility issues pushed the project back by two years.

Construction delays were attributed to a longer-than-expected period securing property and “poorer and wetter” sub-surface soil conditions than expected. Relocating major utilities at several critical locations also bogged down construction.

Work was already under way on the southern leg of the extension between Green Lane and Queensville Sideroad, while five landowners in East Gwillimbury fought against expropriation in late 2010.

Two opening dates will accompany completion - one when the highway is open to traffic and the other, the “supreme end” of the construction contract, is scheduled for December.

The latter accommodates final cleanup and ensures all provincial warranty issues and standards have been met