BRACEBRIDGE — The future of Highway 11 in Bracebridge remains a mystery.
Later this week, the Town of Bracebridge, Ministry of Transportation (MTO) and District of Muskoka will meet to discuss the possibility of a northern bypass and a Hwy. 11 flyover bridge.
Earlier this year, the MTO announced a plan to close all existing at-grade entrances along Highway 11 from High Falls Road to Alpine Ranch Road. An east side service road and a flyover bridge at High Falls Road and Holiday Park Drive would provide access to the closed entrance points.
The problem for the town is that the MTO’s plans would likely cancel out existing plans for a northern bypass of Bracebridge. The Bracebridge Northern Transportation Corridor (BNTC) would begin north of High Falls Road and terminate west of Bracebridge at South Monck Drive.
According to Tony White, the BNTC was selected because of an MTO study from 1992 that suggested a new Hwy. 11 interchange could be built north of High Falls Road.
“It was all fitting together from our point of view. We thought we understood because it was in the study and we had taken that to the bank. We said we’ll make our northern route tie in with this interchange, but their most recent work suggests that the interchange will not be constructed,” said White. “That’s a problem for us because it leaves the Bracebridge northern route in the middle of nowhere with no interchange to connect to.”
White said the MTO’s decision has put a planned Environmental Assessment (EA) of the BNTC on hold for the time being.
“They can be very expensive and very time-consuming,” said White. “We don’t want to embark on something based on a false premise.”
The EA for a southern bypass of Bracebridge beginning at Hwy. 118 and Hwy. 11 took several years to complete, said White. That proposed bypass runs through the Royal Muskoka property over the Muskoka River and connects with Hwy. 118 West.
White said the northern bypass and the southern bypass could operate together or simultaneously.
“We wanted to protect the corridor so there is somewhere for the town to go in the event that urban roads in Bracebridge became so clogged that they just could not be used anymore,” said White.
According to town engineer Ron Walton, development of the southern bypass is likely many years in the future, and would be largely dependent on development along the route.
“It depends on how the community grows,” said Walton. “As need grows, we need to be able to link this route so it’s continuous. You may build a stretch from Santa’s Village Road to Hwy. 118 West, or maybe from Hwy. 118 East to Beaumont Drive.”
The BNTC would be less contingent on development, with a section running through the Crown land of the Bracebridge Resource Management Centre. Walton said that corridor needs to be marked well in advance of any future plans.
“You don’t want to end up with a route where you have to expropriate through people’s backyards,” said Walton.
Nonetheless, Walton said there is currently not enough demand for a bypass and the construction of either one is likely to be many years in the future.
According to the MTO, the goal of its project is to improve safety on Hwy. 11, with the ultimate goal of eliminating all at-grade access points.
Bob Nichols, an MTO spokesperson, confirmed that work on the project continues and MTO is taking requests of the local governments under advisement.
As yet there is no estimated timeline or cost for the MTO project.
It is expected that several meetings between the groups will be required before any resolution is reached.