MINTO – Local residents and travelers won’t be forced onto back roads next summer, as the provincial officials have agreed to defer work on Highway 89 until 2020.
“We have been in correspondence with the Ministry of Transportation over the past couple of years in regards to upcoming work on the provincial highways in Minto,” stated acting CAO Chris Harrow in a report to council on Feb. 5.
“Minimal work has been completed on Highway 9 and Highway 89 the past two summers to prepare for larger projects to begin this year.”
Harrow continued, “We had concerns of closing both Highway 89 and 9 at the same time would have significant traffic impacts on our municipality’s roads.
“It would also hamper our community by having the two main roads leading out of Harriston closed for a long duration in 2019.”
Council was planning to request a delegation to address the ministry at the Ontario Good Roads Association conference in late February, but Harrow told council the meeting would no longer be necessary after hearing from the lead MTO engineer on the project.
“He stated they had listened to our concerns and were pushing the Highway 89 project to the summer of 2020,” Harrow states in the report.
“They are going to complete some minor work in late summer near the Wellington County Road 6 intersection but would keep in mind the work being completed on Highway 9.”
Harrow noted town staff have been in constant contact with the engineer on the Highway 9 project and are working to arrange a meeting between MTO and town officials to discuss signage for Highway 9 businesses affected by the closures.
