Hamilton is set to cut about a year and a half of development time off its conversion of Main Street into two-way thoroughfare.
A new schedule, approved by the city council Wednesday, has the $26.5 million revamp earmarked for either a late 2027 or early 2028 finish.
The plan, which will convert a stretch of the roadway between Dundurn Street to “the Delta” in the east, aims to slow traffic from Highway 403 and provide a relief valve when construction begins on the city’s long-awaited light rail transit (LRT) system.
Ward 9 coun. Brad Clark told councillors he hopes the projects’ connection with the LRT will convince Metrolinx to chip in with funding for the multi-million dollar change partially spurred on after a slew of pedestrian deaths in recent years.
Director of Transportation Operations Mike Field told Global News last spring that reconstruction involves the changing over of 29 traffic signals, underground utility relocation and road resurfacing.
The design, presented in a virtual public information session last May, calls for one westbound lane with an accompanying protected bike lane across much of the route.
A review of the project at a late February planning committee meeting identified options that could compress the schedule by about 17 months from the initial project delivery of 60 months.