ELORA – Hoping to alleviate some of the northbound Highway 6 congestion in Fergus, Centre Wellington councillors have agreed to the acquisition of land required to build a new right-hand turn lane for northbound traffic on Tower Street.
The township identified the intersection of Tower Street South and Union Street as in need of a new right hand turn lane for northbound traffic.
But the new lane required a portion of the land currently included in the 330 Tower Street South parcel, which was recently redeveloped to accommodate a new gas station and convenience store.
Staff had secured an agreement of purchase and sale to transfer ownership of the required land for $2.
But since then, the property changed ownership and the agreement required updating to reflect the change, said Colin Baker, managing director of infrastructure services.
He added Ministry of Transportation (MTO) approval for the new right turn lane has been obtained.
Baker said there is an approved capital budget for a portion of the cost, and additional funds have been identified in the 2019 capital budget.
A developer contribution has been collected for the construction of new entrances to the 330 Tower Street South property.
Mayor Kelly Linton said for residents heading north on Tower Street, there will be left turn, through and right turn lanes.
“Hopefully this will [alleviate] some of the congestion,” Linton said.
Baker added that a few years ago, council approved funds to work towards traffic signal synchronization in the area and, “That work has yet to be completed.”
Construction
Construction on the new right hand turn lane is expected to take place in the spring.
