MOUNT FOREST – Road work is coming to Main Street in Mount Forest during the 2025 construction season, with funding help from the Ontario Ministry of Transportation’s Connecting Links program.
Through a letter dated Jan. 27, and included in the agenda package for the Feb. 10 Wellington North council meeting, transportation minister Prabmeet Singh Sarkana notified the township its application for the 2025-26 Connecting Links Program was successful.
“The ministry’s maximum provincial contribution for your project is $1,651,711 toward the resurfacing of Main Street (Highway 6) (Mount Forest),” the letter stated.
“While we haven’t been successful with lots of our grant applications in recent years, this is one program that we’ve been quite successful with,” Mayor Andy Lennox said during the council meeting.
He expressed his gratitude for the support the program has provided for Highway 6 and Highway 89 through Arthur and Mount Forest.
“These are important arteries for our community, but they’re also important arteries for other communities,” Lennox said.
“I’m glad that the province recognizes the value of those as transportation links and has supported us in granting most of the applications when we’ve asked for them.”
According to a township staff report from last fall, the Connecting Links Program offers funding to municipalities to maintain roadways that connect provincial highways through urban communities.
B.M. Ross and Associates Limited applied on behalf of the township to the program in November for support to resurface Main Street from Queen Street to north of Sligo Road.
The total estimated cost of the project was listed as $1,882,000 inclusive of HST.
“Although total road reconstruction is not required at this time on Main Street, this could be an opportunity to complete resurfacing, stoplight upgrades and storm sewer improvements as needed to extend the useful life another 15 to 20 years,” the report stated.
More detail about the project scope was provided in an attached memo from B.M. Ross.
The project will involve the resurfacing of approximately 1.1km of the street, adding a pedestrian cross-over combined with curb bump-outs at King Street, and upgrading the Wellington Street and Sligo Road traffic signal controllers with uninterrupted power supply and video sensors.
The new crosswalk and upgrades to existing signals will improve safety, the memo stated.
“Some other minor work will be completed as part of the resurfacing work,” it stated, going on to list curb repairs, replacing manhole covers and water valve boxes, improving road drainage, and line painting.
The asphalt within the section of road is between 15 and 18 years old, and has been deteriorating, the memo stated.
“It is proposed to mill and resurface the upper 40mm surface asphalt wear layer,” it said.
There is no underground work proposed as part of the project.
“Water and wastewater infrastructure in this road section of Main Street between Queen Street to Birmingham Street was upgraded in 2008 and 2009, and no further servicing requirements are known at this time and are not eligible costs for this funding,” the staff report stated.
The majority of the project costs will be covered by the Connecting Links funding from the province, with the remainder to come from the township’s capital reserve.
“With the completion of this project that’s proposed … our connecting links will be in pretty good shape for a few years,” Lennox said during the council meeting.
Asked via email about traffic impacts of the project, township manager of infrastructure and engineering Tammy Stevenson stated only that “a traffic detour is not anticipated for this project.”
