It’s been a long and winding process for Innisfil Beach Road (IBR).
But work is nearly finished on the roughly two-kilometre stretch — officially known as County Road 21 — between town hall and the 20th Sideroad. Paving of the surface asphalt is currently underway and should be complete within days.
The paving of driveways, placement of topsoil and seeding and sodding of roadside ditches and boulevard areas is also taking place. And paving of the multi-use trail should be done shortly.
All this means Georgian Paving, the contractor brought in to finish the multimillion-dollar job following a lengthy set of delays, is on schedule to wrap up by the end of November, Mayor Lynn Dollin said.
“It’s going to be very nice to get it finished,” she said. “But there will be another section after this construction. This is a huge project. They’ve had to purchase land off people; if somebody had a fence, they had to rebuild on their new property line. It’s a massive undertaking.”
The County of Simcoe is overseeing the project, in partnership with the InnServices utility.
Once finished, it will include the widening of the road from two to four lanes and storm water enhancements, and the off-road trail will link Alcona to the Innisfil municipal campus.
“I’m looking forward to the whole project getting done,” Dollin said. “But definitely, this has been a sore spot for people and I totally get it. The original contractor was supposed to have it done at the end of 2021. It’s two years overdue.”
The next phase of IBR construction — Yonge to County Road 54 (10th Sideroad) — is expected to begin in 2024, and the bidding process is currently underway. That section, when done, will also include the widening of the road to four lanes, and the installation of a new watermain and forcemain.
Dollin says proposed intersection improvements at IBR and the 20th Sideroad are still in the design stage. Work in that area will eventually see IBR widened to four lanes, the re-alignment of the 20th Sideroad's south leg, the installation of traffic signals and sanitary sewers, and provisions made for future watermains.
Since GO Transit train tracks run directly through this area, the plan is being coordinated with Metrolinx, she said.
“I’ll be really excited to see that intersection redone,” Dollin said.
