Burloak underpass project will go ahead at reduced cost and ahead of schedule

Wed, 22 Jun 2022

The much anticipated Burloak Drive Grade Separation (underpass) will be moving ahead following recent approval of a revised cost sharing agreement and timeline by Oakville Town Council and City of Burlington Council.  A joint initiative between the Town of Oakville, the City of Burlington and Metrolinx, this critical mobility project is set to finish two months ahead of schedule and within the town’s original proposed budget.

Back in February, after learning from Metrolinx that this much needed infrastructure project was proceeding but at triple the planned cost, Oakville Town Council directed staff to explore all options to finalize a new cost sharing arrangement.

At that time, the project had increased to $177.3 million from an initial estimate of $60 million and Metrolinx had requested the Town of Oakville and the City of Burlington pay half of the increase in the project cost, or close to $45 million each instead of the agreed $15 million each. This presented an unforeseen financial challenge for the municipalities in order to complete this critical infrastructure enhancement.

After weeks of discussion with the City of Burlington and Metrolinx, the Town of Oakville received an updated cost sharing proposal which shifts a significant amount of additional cost to Metrolinx and sees a reduction of the funding from the municipal partners to approximately $16 million each.

The reduction in the municipal cost share stems from Metrolinx assuming additional financial responsibility for utility work and track work (two major components of the overall project) and a revised timeline that sees the project ending two months ahead of schedule due to the closing of Burloak Drive, between Wyecroft Road and Superior Court, for 12 months. This closure will take place near the end of construction and will also allow for majority of the roadworks to occur in unison instead of a sequenced approach. The project is estimated to be completed summer of 2027.

Key highlights

• Burloak Drive Grade Separation (underpass) Project is a joint initiative between the Town of Oakville, City of Burlington and Metrolinx to create safer roads and reduce traffic congestion at the Lakeshore West rail crossing on Burloak Drive.
• This underpass project is pivotal to easing traffic congestion and creating safer roads for drivers, pedestrians, cyclists, transit riders and GO commuters.
• With GO Transit’s planned 15-minute all-day service, that will see up to eight trains crossing Burloak Drive every hour, in addition to regular VIA and freight trains, this is a critical project for Oakville and Burlington’s mobility.
• The need for a grade separation at Burloak Drive and the Lakeshore West Rail Line was identified in 1994 through a joint transportation Environmental Assessment (EA) study with the City of Burlington.

For more information, read the staff report on the June 7, 2002 Planning and Development Council Agenda Addendum - item 7.4 or visit the Burloak Grade Separation Project web page.

Quote

“We are extremely pleased that Metrolinx was able to work with its municipal partners to get this critical infrastructure project back on track. Collaboration at all levels of government is important in planning for safety and building a more livable future for our community.”

Mayor Rob Burton