THUNDER BAY — An possible extension road that would connect the Northwest Arterial Road to Wardrope in the north end is not part of the city's current public consultations, but it should be addressed later in the year.
At the moment, city engineering director Matthew Miedema told Newswatch, the public survey is only assessing the Northwest Arterial Road between Golf Links Road and Dawson Road.
The Wardrope extension does appear on maps provided by the city as part of the current consultation process, prompting questions from area residents about the stretch of road north of Dawson.
According to Miedema, a second round of public constitutions will address the Wardrope extension later this year.
“The wardrobe extension is only been reviewed at a high level at this time, and a further subsequent study would happen later on when warranted,” Miedema said.
“It's a future connection project we would look at down the road, it's not part of this study,” he added.
Miedema noted the road between Dawson and Wardrope has been part of the transportation master plan for 30 years; however, the Wardrope extension is “a future project” not tied to the current Northwest Arterial Road project.
Currently the city is updating the Northwest Arterial Road project, a project that has been slated for construction since the late 80s.
With the Ontario Ministry of Transportation’s plans to update Thunder Bay Expressway, Miedama said “the need for this new road is accelerated.”
The complete Northwest Arterial Road would be approximately 3.76 kilometres in length, starting at Golf Links Road near the McIntyre River, connecting to Dawson Road near Paquette Road and eventually Wardrope Avenue.
The city held an open house on Dec. 4 at the 55 Plus Centre and a survey was launched shortly after. The survey end date is Jan. 10.
Once the survey data is collected, Miedema will prepare his final recommendations and hold another open house on March 2. Afterward, he will present his recommendations to council.
