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A4 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday July 12, 2000 IT'S A GUY THING: Richard and David were thrilled with Bronte Creek Provincial Park. But they were really thrilled when they dis covered some old farm machinery and tried to make it work. We did n't have the heart to tell them this tractor isn't going anywhere. Photo by Peter C. McCusker Bringing bridge to reality took patience, years of studies While the Rebecca Street bridge may seem to have been delayed forever, a look back at the history of the huge pro ject reveals just why it took so long: - In early 1990 the Town completes its Official Plan Amendment (OPA) for the lands on the east side of Burloak Drive between Lakeshore Road and the QEW. - The transportation component of the OPA indicates that full development of the land required two additional cross ings of Bronte Creek, one at Rebecca Street and another north of the CN mainline connecting Harvester Road in Burlington to Speers Road. - In 1993 the Town began its Environmental Assessment (EA) studies for Burloak Drive and the two Bronte Creek crossings. These concluded that crossings should be placed at Rebecca and a second connecting Wyecroft Road at Bronte Road to Harvester Road at Burloak. - In 1994 the Burloak Drive-Twelve Mile Creek Environmental Assessment Steering Committee hammered out a number of compromises arising from concerns by a variety of residents groups, some members o f which opposed the southerly (Rebecca) crossing in favour of the northerly bridge being built first. - In 1997 the Town's addendum to the EA for Burloak concluded a four lane level crossing of the CN mainline was necessary. This was designed in 1998 and construction fin ished earlier this year. - In 1999, McCormick Rankin Corporation was selected to design major roadwork improvements in the Rebecca Street Bridge area. Public information forums were held from which residents' concerned were logged and consid ered. - Last month. Town Council awarded the $9,931,233 bridge construction contract to Mardave Construction Ltd. about $725,000 of which is work that will be paid for by Halton Region, Bell Canada, Cogeco and Oakville Hydro. - The official groundbreaking on the bridge took place Tuesday with completion set for late summer 2001. - Additional roadwork in the Bronte Road area will then commence in the fall 2001. ·Howard Mozel B rid g e a n d H w y. 4 0 7 w ill open a t sam e tim e (Continued from page A1) which received 11 bids for the job, ended the tender process by selecting Mardave Construction Ltd. The total of the tender, which includes reconstruction of C rime W atch Crime Watch is presented in co-operation with Halton Regional Police Services and is aimed at promoting awareness of criminal activity in our community and a better understanding of the security issues teeing Oakville residents. The following is a list of Oakville-area break-ins and auto thefts reported to Halton Police. Some occurrences may not appear because of delays in the reporting of the incidents. F rom J u ly 3-July 9 ,2 0 0 0 Residential break-ins One Full Year $ please call S im o ne at: 99 * * Livery Lane Stationmaster Lane Fieldcrest Lane Postmaster Drive Arbourvlew Drive Blackburn Drive Unlocked garage Garage door Garage door Unlocked garage Unlocked garage Unlocked garage Bicycle TWo bikes, golf dubs TWo bikes Bike, golf dubs Golf dubs, tools Bicyde Stolen vehicles July 5th July 5th Marlborough Court Kerr Street 1989 Toyota Supra 1992 Honda Accord Tip of the week: ·" W h e n planning a visit to a crowded public place, make sure your child is dressed in easily-recognizable colours. For example, a bright yellow or striped shirt is likely to be more visible than a solid blue shirt. If you have information regarding the above crimes, please contact #2 District Criminal Investigations at 825-4777, ext. 2216 or Crime Stoppers at 825-TIPS (825-8477) or 1-800-222-TIPS. Callers will never have to Identify themaelvea. (905) 8 4 2 - 2 3 6 6 4 7 4 Iroquois S h o re R o a d , O akville "Tima limited offer. Membership v»Hd «t the bcetton of enrollment only. Some reetrictlone apply. 0041NW Bronte Road between Sovereign Street and Speers Road, is $9,931,233.57 - money well-spent says, Mayor Ann Mulvale, who sees the span as part of Oakville's big transportation pic ture. After all, she says, unimpeded movement hinges on a co ordinated transportation strategy between every level of gov ernment, of which the bridge is a vital local component. "We're playing catch-up all the time," she said. "We need dedicated funding." Public Works Director Ray Green added that it is fortu itous that Hwy. 407 will be complete around the same time as the bridge, diverting a lot of Burlington-bound vehicles. The QEW widening from Third Line to Burloak will also help. "All are stepping stones to help the overall traffic flow," said Mulvale. "All are pieces of the puzzle." In addition to improving emergency services to residents on the creek's west side and to Petro-Canada, the bridge will also allow final occupancy of homes to be built on the Shell Lands. What the bridge should not do, says Flynn, is swamp the existing community with traffic, but simply give the same residents another avenue to travel. That said, Flynn makes it clear that pedestrians have also been taken into account. True, says Bob Rook of McCormick Rankin Coiporation, the transportation consultants overseeing the project. Like the Smith-Triller Viaduct in north Oakville, the Rebecca Bridge will have a similar walkway - only a metre wider - plus a lookout in the middle. There will also be stairs at the south east comer to allow access to a trail system on the valley floor. "It brings a whole host of advantages," said Flynn. Given the environmentally sensitive nature of the creek valley, construction will be done in such a way as to mini mize the need for the contractor to work down there. Mardave Construction will first build the centre pier in the flood plain then complete the abutments at the top of the two banks. Steel girders will then be assembled on the table lands on the west side o f the creek then be "launched" across the valley. Concrete surface work can then be accomplished from the girders. A new parkette will also be created at the northwest cor ner of Rebecca and Bronte Road dedicated to the Radial Railway that provided passenger service between Oakville and Hamilton in the early part of this century. The abutment of the original bridge will be demolished as part of the new project but the piers in the valley will be left alone. Starting Sept. 5 of this year, Bronte Road north of Rebecca Street will be closed to through traffic to accommodate road construction. The road is set to be re-opened, however, before the end of the year, The opening of Rebecca Street across the bridge by the end of Summer 2001 will then allow the closure of Bronte Road between Rebecca and Sovereign Streets in Fall 2001. There will also be a pedestrian lookout on Bronte Road opposite Hixon Street plus additional landscaping at Donovan Bailey Park. At the southeast comer of Mississaga and Rebecca Streets the existing trail will be moved north and a landscape berm will be built to provide additional screening for residents of Swansea Drive. PREGNANT & NEED HELP? Free Confidential Service O a k v i l l e 8 2 5 - 1 2 1 6 M i l t o n J u l y 1 5 , t o 2 0 0 0 p m M o n d a y - T h u rs d a y 7 7 a .m . - 5 p .m . o End ta b le | R e g .$-|-|47| 8 : 0 0 a m 5 : 3 0 W e w ill p a y th e G S T a n d P S T o n th e h u n d r e d s o f y e llo w ta g g e d ite m s th r o u g h o u t th e s to re . O Queen b e d d in g F r id a y 7 7 a .m . - 2 p .m . 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