Road repairs

[markbarbera]

The lower city is in desperate need of new faces too. At least we are guaranteed new councillors for Wards 1 and 3.we need mountain councillors and lower city councillors that are willing to work together for the whole city.

[LikeHamilton]

Kenilworth Access to close both ways for one full week

AM900 CHML Ken Mann May 22, 2014 02:01 pm

There’s more drama for those who rely on the Kenilworth Access.

Hamilton’s Public Works Department now says that all lanes, both upbound and downbound, will be closed for an entire week so that crews can remove large rocks and other materials that came loose during last week’s mudslide.

The closure will begin at 7 o’clock on Friday morning.

The downbound lanes are expected to reopen next Friday, after which the upbound lanes will remain closed for another two weeks for additional rock scaling.

During the full closure of the Kenilworth access, the Sherman Cut will operate in off-peak mode with one lane in both directions.

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[mishap]

Originally Posted by MeIsThomas

The city is having a massive switch to LED street lights this summer!

Loving it. It's nice to be able to view things in their true colours again. Away with the orange!
There was a pilot project on Lakeshore in Toronto a few years back with these things, and it made me realize just how much I'd missed white lighting.

[thistleclub]

Mountain Brow Boulevard lane reduction possible
(Hamilton Mountain News, Gord Bowes, July 28 2014)

The city is considering removing a lane of traffic on Mountain Brow Boulevard at the top of the Kenilworth Access.

Traffic cones were set up last week as part a traffic calming experiment to approximate what would happen if the two eastbound lanes from Upper Ottawa were cut to one, said east Mountain councillor Tom Jackson.

The experiment will be repeated after school resumes.

Residents in the area have complained in recent years about the speed of traffic entering and exiting the traffic circle.

“We’re trying this experiment for traffic calming and reducing speed, seeing if that one lane … can handle the volume of traffic,” said Jackson.

The councillor said no thought has been given to what would happen to any removed lane, whether it be turned into parking or bike lane or some other use.

“We haven’t even gone that far,” he said....

“We’re trying as many different measures as we can, without frustrating drivers, but for drivers to recognize there needs to be some responsible driving as well,” said Jackson.

[thistleclub]

There’s a pothole in Hamilton's roads budget
(Hamilton Spectator, Matthew Van Dongen, Sept 17 2014)

The city has run out of money to repair local roads.

The annual capital roads budget for Hamilton is close to $70 million, but most of that cash is used to fix highways, arterial roads, bus routes and bridges.

The city relied for several years on $25 million left over from a provincial grant to deal with neighbourhood streets — but that money has been used up.

That means local roads will not be rebuilt unless they're dug up for sewer work or already identified on a four-year-old council priority list, said engineering director Gary Moore.

Residents in Wards 1 through 8 can also lobby councillors to use area rating cash. Each of those wards has a $1.6-million annual budget, but fewer than a dozen repaving projects have used that discretionary money so far.

Moore said relying on "ad hoc, unplanned" spending for residential streets won't work.

"We will have (local) roads go down to gravel before we get to them unless we come up with a predictable funding source," he said after a public works meeting Monday.

He told worried councillors at the meeting there is still a budget for minor repairs like filling potholes, and "emergency failures" like sinkholes are immediately fixed — but that money is pulled out of other planned projects.

"So we have no local roads program budgeted, no maintenance program, and you're telling me we jut sit here and let them deteriorate?" asked Councillor Scott Duvall.

Public works head Gerry Davis said ideally, the city should spend an extra $90 million a year to properly maintain all roads and bridges. He also noted council has repeatedly asked staff for near-zero budget increases in an effort to keep taxes low.

Read it in full here.

[thistleclub]

Lane restrictions on Sherman Access for street light work
(Hamilton Mountain News, Sept 18 2014)

Expect intermittent lane closures on the Sherman Access for three weeks starting Monday.

The traffic restriction is necessary to allow crews to safely replace existing street lights with LED ones, says Hamilton’s Public Works Department. Traffic movement will be maintained in both directions.

The work will be done over a three-week period.

[thistleclub]

Snake Road bridge construction to begin in November
(Flamborough Review, Catherine O'Hara, Sept 19 2014)

Construction of a new Snake Road bridge, slated to begin in November, should be completed before the end of the year.

Canadian Pacific (CP) is moving forward with plans to replace the railway crossing structure and is committed to doing so in an expeditious fashion, said representatives from the private railway transportation company at a community meeting held at the School Sisters of Notre Dame Motherhouse Sept. 17.

In July, structural issues forced the emergency closure of the aging structure. Bridge access is currently limited to pedestrians and cyclists, which is a cause for concern for many who rely on the crossing to access Waterdown from Snake Road or Burlington from Thompson Drive.

A number of organizations, including the School Sisters of Notre Dame, a Snake Road facility that is home to 70 retired nuns and is staffed by up to 85 employees, as well as seniors programs such as SAMS and STEPS, have been negatively impacted by the closure. A lengthy suggested detour, via Hwy. 6, has resulted in increased emergency response time, staff resignation and decreased attendance at programs offered at the Motherhouse.

According to Tom Twigge, the railway company’s director of special projects, CP has a legal obligation to provide a bridge over its corridor.

Working with some of the country’s top consultants, CP has explored a number of options to replace the current structure. The construction of a new, two-lane timber bridge is preferred as it can be installed swiftly, limiting the impacts on area residents and organizations.

“This is the fastest, most economical solution, but not the cheapest,” he said.

An Oregon-based company has been contracted to construct the bridge, which will meet building standards and serve the community well into the future. The new bridge’s lifespan, said Twigge, is an estimated 70 years.

The structure will be six feet wider than the current bridge, improving the safety of pedestrians, and will feature increased railing height for cyclists. No weight restrictions will be imposed on the newly constructed bridge that will feature an asphalt surface.

CP will bear the full cost of the bridge’s construction and is responsible for its maintenance and any future upgrades.

The aging bridge will be removed in late October. There will be no pedestrian or cyclist access until the new structure is installed, an estimated six- to eight-week period.

Read it in full here.

[LikeHamilton]

Construction to begin on Rymal Road

HAMILTON, ON – September 22, 2014 – This week, Hamilton’s Public Works Department begins work on a two-year project on Rymal Road East between Dartnall Road to 75m west of Trinity Church Road. The project is for the widening of the road to accommodate growth in this area.

The project will also include watermain installation on Rymal Road East between Nebo Road and Dartnall Road. The 2014 road reconstruction works will focus primarily at the Dartnall Road intersection and the balance of the road works will be constructed in 2015. Lane restrictions will be required to complete this work. Motorists should expect delays in this area and HSR buses may also experience delays.

A second contract is expected to be issued at a later date to extend the Rymal Road East reconstruction from 75m west of Trinity Church Road to Fletcher Road. Completion of both contracts will see Rymal Road East widened to five lanes along with the construction of sidewalks, signal improvements, and street lighting.

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[thistleclub]

James Mountain Road access to close this weekend
(Hamilton Mountain News, Oct 16 2014)

The James Mountain Road escarpment access will be closed to accommodate ongoing construction on West 5th Street.

The access that connects West 5th Street and James Street South will be closed so crews can safely remove and rebuild two retaining walls along the escarpment.

The access will be closed Saturday and Sunday between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m.

HSR Transit will be detouring during this closure.

[ScreamingViking]

Re: the Upper Red Hill Valley Parkway -- while I personally think there is logic in this extension, I find it amazing how there has been so little mention of things like "pushback on the costs from Ancaster residents because most of them are never going to use it" (http://www.thespec.com/news-story/4917005-cannon-bike-lanes-drawing-up-to-400-riders-daily-city/)

[Dr Awesomesauce]

Perhaps people are still hungover from that last bit of unpleasantness.

[thistleclub]

Snake Road bridge construction delayed
(Flamborough Review, Catherine O'Hara, Dec 23 2014)

The closure of the Snake Road railway crossing has been extended by roughly one month.

According Canadian Pacific (CP) spokesperson Salem Woodrow, construction of the new, two-lane timber bridge to join Burlington’s Snake Road to Waterdown’s Thomson Drive has been delayed, but should be completed by January 23, 2015.

“The delays in construction were due to some extra work CP did to the bridge foundation,” said Woodrow, adding, “The crossing continues to be closed to all pedestrian and vehicle traffic, and is not to be used due to safety concerns.”

Work to replace the aging bridge that spans the CP railway tracks commenced in November. CP officials expected the construction to be completed by the end of the year.

Read it in full here.

[thistleclub]

Could city roads end up going ‘back to gravel?'
(Hamilton Spectator, Matthew Van Dongen, Jan 16 2015)

Hamilton faces a gravel road renaissance without a cash influx to fix fast-deteriorating local roads, warned the city's top public works manager warned Thursday.

"We have a problem, we have a crisis. There's not enough money to do all the roads, (so) the local roads suffer," said Gerry Davis when questioned by councillors Thursday about the lack of budgeted repairs for residential streets in 2015.

The head of public works pointed out $120 million of the city's annual infrastructure deficit is in road repairs — and the problem is only getting worse. "Roads may have to go back to gravel. That's totally unacceptable, but that's where we're heading," he said.Davis estimating the city only has enough money to repair half of about 100 priority roads.

Not so fast, said councillors, who directed city staff to juggle priorities in the $242-million capital budget to spend at least $3 million more on deteriorating local roads this year.

Coun. Sam Merulla acknowledged the city faces a cash crunch, but he called the gravel road warning "unnecessarily melodramatic."

"No councillor is going to let that happen," said Merulla, who pushed the motion to "realign priorities" within the existing budget.

Coun. Terry Whitehead also called for a closer look at how roads are chosen for replacement or repair — even as he suggested "gravel would be an improvement" for some of his Mountain ward's worst streets.


Read it in full here

[Dr Awesomesauce]

In the end, we'll bankrupt ourselves with our insatiable appetite for roads and cars and easy motoring - it's our destiny.

At least the Romans built things that have managed to partly withstand the rigours of time.

All this asphalt, on the other hand, will heave and split and crumble to almost nothing within a few short years of the money drying up - what a terrible waste.

[durandy]

Merulla's right, this is just tabloid fearmongering. Our roads aren't that bad.

[bigguy1231]

That's the problem with 0% tax increases, we don't have enough money to maintain current infrastructure. If they allowed taxes to go up by at least the rate of inflation we wouldn't have gotten so far behind. Now we are going to be looking at even higher increases once they finally realize that we cannot sustain infrastructure and services with less and less money.

[durandy]

Originally Posted by bigguy1231

That's the problem with 0% tax increases, we don't have enough money to maintain current infrastructure. If they allowed taxes to go up by at least the rate of inflation we wouldn't have gotten so far behind. Now we are going to be looking at even higher increases once they finally realize that we cannot sustain infrastructure and services with less and less money.

0% increases and police budgets up 2-4% per year.