in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, Ju ne 23 ,2 02 2 | 14 The Town of Oakville has received plans for a rail underpass project at Bur- loak Drive that's back on track. However, a similar project for Kerr Street remains in limbo. Councillors received updates on both plans during a June 7 meeting of the Plan- ning and Development Council. With regard to the Burloak project, the town's director of transportation and engi- neering, Jill Stephen, announced the cost can potentially be brought down to $16 mil- lion. This is a far cry from the amount the town had been looking at. On Feb. 24, Metrolinx informed town staff that costs for the Burloak Drive grade separation project had risen from an ini- tial estimate of $60 million to $177.3 million and that the Town of Oakville and the City of Burlington would need to pay half of the costs. That would have worked out to $45 mil- lion each, instead of the $15 million each that was previously quoted. Stephen noted in a report to council that since late February town staff have met with Metrolinx and Burlington staff to receive an updated cost sharing proposal for the Burloak Drive grade separation. "This latest proposal shifted a significant amount of additional cost to Metrolinx, re- sulting in a reduction of the request for addi- tional funding from the municipal partners to $3.05 million each," said Stephen. "The reduction in the municipal cost share stems from Metrolinx assuming ad- ditional financial responsibility for utility work and track work -- two major compo- nents of the overall project cost." Stephen said Metrolinx also presented an option to reduce the municipal part- ners' share further by $2 million each if the two municipalities agreed to a 12-month road closure of Burloak Drive from Wye- croft Road to Superior Court near the end of the construction period. The closure, which Oakville council agreed to, would result in cost savings as a result of the elimination of the work to switch traffic from the detour road to the permanent road. It would also allow the majority of road- works to occur in unison instead of a se- quenced approach. If the City of Burlington agrees the clo- sure will likely take place from the sum- mer of 2026 to the summer of 2027. Provided the closure moves ahead, the town's share will be $16 million, just $1 mil- lion higher than the original quote. Stephen said the Burloak Drive grade separation is a critical mobility project to support rail, road transit and active trans- portation within, through, to and from Oakville. It is expected to be complete in June 2027. The news was not so positive for the Kerr Street underpass project. Stephen noted that while Metrolinx now says they see the Kerr Street grade separation as critical to moving ahead with plans to electrify the Lakeshore West GO Line, the project is still on hold. The Kerr Street grade separation has been on hold since Metrolinx reported to town staff on Feb. 24 that the cost of the pro- ject was expected to be $234 million and as a result would not be moving forward until more favourable market conditions arrived. "Both our staff and Metrolinx continue to work together to explore options to make sure we can move this project for- ward," said Stephen. Some options involve re-tendering the project in different ways. Stephen said another option would see the project broken into smaller pieces so some early works could go ahead sooner. The town has already spent $6.9 million on prep work around the Kerr Street cross- ing in anticipation of the underpass being built. Ward 2 Coun. Ray Chisholm asked if there was any way the town could get the province to commit to some kind of sched- ule for the project. Stephen said Metrolinx is expected to provide another update on this project at the end of July. BURLOAK RAIL UNDERPASS ON TRACK, BUT KERR PROJECT IN LIMBO DAVID LEA dlea@metroland.com NEWS Oakville council has received an update from staff on the Burloak Drive and Kerr Street grade separation projects. Costs for the Burloak project have been brought down, but the Kerr Street project remains uncertain. Graham Paine/Metroland