The Provincial Government's infrastructure
strategy continues to benefit people and regions throughout the
province. A recent tender call for the replacement of the Kenmount Road
overpass at Topsail Road will help ease traffic congestion for both
residential and commercial traffic on two roads that are among the
busiest in the Northeast Avalon region.
"The existing Kenmount Road overpass has
outlived its usefulness," said the Honourable Tom Hedderson, Minister of
Transportation and Works. "Because of its age, height and size, the time
has come to replace it with a larger structure that will better
facilitate the flow of people and goods in this busy and expanding area
of the province. Through our infrastructure strategy, we are making key
infrastructure investments throughout the province and the replacement
of this important structure with something better matched to the current
and predicted traffic patterns fits well with our goal of improving
infrastructure for the benefit of people and businesses throughout
Newfoundland and Labrador."
The tender calls for the replacement of the
Kenmount Road overpass, which currently has two lanes above and two
lanes below the structure, with a much larger structure and associated
work. The new overpass will accommodate four lanes on Kenmount Road,
above the structure, and six lanes on Topsail Road, below the structure.
The six lanes beneath the overpass will include two turning lanes for
on-ramps that provide access to Kenmount Road. Once the project is
completed, the interchange at this location will remain fully
directional as it is today but will be able to handle much higher
traffic flows. This project is being cost-shared 50/50 between the
Provincial and Federal Governments under the federal Building Canada
Fund.
"This is great news for the residents of the
area," said Paul Davis, MHA for the District of Topsail. "The
replacement of the Kenmount Road overpass and associated work will
eliminate the bottleneck effect that currently exists at this location.
This will lead to a more effective flow of traffic for both residents
who commute to and from work and businesses who use these roads on a
daily basis."
"This is a key piece of public infrastructure
that has outlived its original design," said Steve Kent, MHA for Mount
Pearl North. "This is an extremely busy area with rapid residential and
commercial expansion. A significant enhancement of the flow of people
and goods in this area will be realized once this work is completed and
I know that it will be of great benefit for the entire area."
Also included in this tender is the
replacement of two existing bridge structures on Kenmount Road, one over
the T'Railway and one over the Waterford River, with large culverts.
This work is expected to be completed later this fall.
Necessary widening work
associated with the additional lanes above and below the Kenmount Road
overpass will begin this summer. The completion of this widening, and
other work including the demolition and replacement of the overpass
structure, will begin next spring and should be completed by late
summer/early fall, 2011. While this work is ongoing, a diversion will be
constructed to divert Kenmount Road traffic around the construction
site.
Budget 2010:
The Right Investments — For
Our Children and Our Future
provides $177.7 million in Provincial
Government funding for road and bridge expenditures throughout the
province. This funding will be supplemented by an additional $57.9
million in Federal Government funding for a total road and bridge
investment of $235.6 million in 2010-11. The Provincial Government's
overall infrastructure strategy includes investments in municipalities,
healthcare, education, justice, social housing, transportation, and
environment and conservation.
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