Public meeting Sept. 20 on Bridgenorth bypass

BRIDGENORTH - Peterborough County has called a public information centre for Sept. 20 on the proposed Bridgenorth bypass.

The public information centre will take place Sept. 20 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. in the auditorium of Chemong Public School at 1029 Gore St. in Bridgenorth.

The proposed County Road 18 bypass would link the James A. Gifford Causeway over Chemong Lake with Chemong Road through a new road that bypasses the residential and commercial areas of Bridgenorth, resolving the backups that occur at the causeway turn when cottage country traffic is busy.

The county has initiated an environmental assessment addendum to the original municipal class environmental assessment that was completed for the proposed project in 1996.

The bypass would increase road capacity to meet expected future traffic demands while providing opportunities for active transportation, according to the notice for the public information centre.

At the same time the county is also initiating an environmental assessment to study the widening of Ward Street in Bridgenorth, the existing route of County Road 18, between the causeway and Champlain Road.

The Sept. 20 meeting is the first of two planned public information centres to allow the public to review and provide comments on the recommendations.

The idea of the bypass has faced opposition from some Bridgenorth business owners.