TORONTO – Wellington-Halton Hills MP Ted Arnott says that while the Morriston Bypass Coalition has a valid point, he doesn’t believe the new route on Highway 6 has been abandoned by the province.
Last week the Advertiser reported that the coalition was writing letters again as they realized the bypass, approved in 2017 and to begin construction in 2019, was now the third part in a staged reconfiguring of Highway 6 through Puslinch and Highway 401.
The new plan includes rehabilitating Concession 7 (completed in 2020) and a new interchange on the Hanlon Expressway at Wellington Road 34, a three- or four-year project to begin this spring.
The bypass is the final part of this project and no date has been set or funding set aside for the project now.
“We’ve been duped,” Bill Knetsch, a coalition member and Morriston resident, told the Advertiser in a phone interview on Feb. 14.
“This government has shifted the funding to the Bradford bypass and the controversial Highway 413. Morriston is not even on this government’s radar.”
In a phone interview on Feb. 16, Arnott said the Morriston Bypass was referenced in both the Ontario 2021 budget and the Fall Economic Statement, indicating Morriston has not been forgotten by the province.
“I don’t think we’ve been dropped down the list,” Arnott said.
“The province is involved in many road projects – it’s not a case of one or another. We’re definitely a priority or we would not have been referenced in the budget.”
He said the project has been advancing and he continues to discuss the bypass with the ministers of transportation and finance.
“I would agree we need to continue to advocate, and I appreciate Bill’s advocacy on this. And I recognize my obligation to make it move forward,” he said.
“I understand the frustration and I wish we had a firm date. We don’t.”
Arnott continued, “But to suggest we’ve been knocked down the list – I don’t think that’s happened.”
In a follow-up email, Arnott said when the provincial government changed in 2018, the newly appointed minister of transportation launched a review of all the projects the previous government had on the books to ensure that they aligned with the new government’s priorities. This process took many months and affected many projects, Arnott said.
And after further inquiries with the ministry of transportation, “I am advised that progress continues to be made on the Morriston Bypass,” he said.
Arnott explained the mid-block interchange on the Hanlon Expressway is needed as part of the larger bypass plan, noting field investigations, design work and property acquisition are ongoing.
“I will continue to work with local partners, including the Township of Puslinch and the County of Wellington, to advocate for the Morriston Bypass, and push for firm scheduled dates for its construction and completion,” Arnott said.
