January 2012 - Agricultural Operations Consultation

After careful review and consideration of stakeholder input received from the last round of PICs in January 2011, the study team is proceeding with the preliminary design of the preferred route that was presented at the last round of PICs. The preferred route is now the selected route.

To download a plan of the selected route, please click here (PDF/4mb).

Now that a route has been selected, we are undertaking additional consultation with the agricultural community to obtain more specific information from agricultural producers to aid in the development of alternatives and measures to soften potential impacts Specifically, the study team is seeking information to aid in the development of crossing road treatments and access requirements along the selected route.

If you would like to provide us with additional information regarding your agricultural operation and travel patterns along and across Highway 7&8 in the study area, please complete the following questionnaire and return it to the study team at the address provided on the bottom of the questionnaire by Friday February 3, 2012.

To download the questionnaire, please click here (PDF/37kb).

In addition to the questionnaire, the study team is holding three consultation meetings to provide an explanation of how the collected information will be used and to answer any questions about the questionnaire. Consultation meetings are scheduled for the following dates and times. The same information will be presented at all three meetings.

December 2011 - Selected Route

The preferred route that was presented at the last round of PICs held in January 2011 has been confirmed as the selected route (see plan below). Please note that the selected route defines the location of Highway 7&8. The design details (profile, crossing road connections, etc.) have yet to be determined.

MTO is proceeding with Preliminary Design of the selected route. Preliminary Design involves defining the selected route in greater detail, including the profile, the roadway cross section (e.g. number of lanes, lane width, shoulder width, etc.), crossing road connections, drainage requirements and right-of-way requirements. The study team will also be investigating ways to avoid or soften any potential impacts.

Click here map to view full map (PDF/4mb).

Over the course of the study, the Agricultural Business Community has identified a number of concerns, some of which could not be fully addressed until a route was selected. Now that a selected route has been identified, the study team will be exploring various ways to address these concerns in more detail. Additional targeted consultations with the agricultural community are planned for early in the new year to obtain more specific information from farm producers to aid in the development of the roadway cross section, crossing road treatments and property access requirements as well as to better define potential tile drainage and nutrient management impacts.

Accordingly, MTO has decided to postpone the next round of PICs to allow for consultations with the agricultural community. The next round of PICs are expected to occur in the Spring of 2012.