Councillor: Fifty Road upgrades not soon enough
Hamilton will be improving the Fifty Road escarpment access, but it won’t happen until 2022.
Sam Sidawi, manager of asset management for the city, told Hamilton politicians recently that improvements to the Fifty Road access will be made to the road and slope for an estimated cost of $2.5 million.
Stoney Creek Coun. Brenda Johnson, while applauding the capital investment to the access, said the work should happen sooner not later.
“If you hit (the access) the right way you will lose a small car,” said Johnson. She said erosion at the top of the escarpment near the twisting and turning escarpment access is becoming more predominated with toppled trees and exposed roots.
“It does concern me,” said Johnson. “I want to put it on notice because when Costco opens up, the traffic on that road will increase a hundred fold.”
The new Costco commercial plaza that is currently being built at Fifty Road and the South Service Road is expected to attract thousands of people to the area, putting pressure on local neighbourhood roads and Fifty Road.
Sidawi said the capital works project for Fifty Road includes road reconstruction, the stabilization of the slope and reconstruction of a new retaining wall. But no work is scheduled until 2022.
In November 2016, the city closed Fifty Road between Ridge Road and Highway 8 for a resurfacing project. Sidawi said he is confident the Fifty Road access will remain safe until the improvement measures are done within five years.
“I don’t believe it’s a hazard,” he said. “We do plan on repairing the wall at the bottom of Fifty Road.”
Stoney Creek has seen its share of upgrades to area accesses lately. Last year, staff removed loose rock from the side of the escarpment and rock debris from ditches on New Mountain Road’s access.
And construction began on McNeilly Road in June and is expected to be completed by Oct. 31. Hamilton politicians have approved boosting spending on the city’s 17 escarpment accesses from about $400,000 annually to $1 million starting next year, conditional on budget considerations.
In addition, the city will be spending over $12 million to fix the Claremont Access, the Sherman Access as well as the Fifty Road access over the next few years.