final report
Kettle Island best place for a new Ottawa River bridge, NCC says
by Patrick DareJanuary 5, 2009 12:05 PM
OTTAWA — The National Capital Commission’s consultants have confirmed that Kettle Island is the preferred location for a new bridge linking Ontario and Quebec.
The NCC’s consultants, ROCHE-NCE, in September said Kettle Island was the preliminary choice for a bridge aimed at easing inter-provincial traffic and diverting trucks from downtown Ottawa. Today the NCC released the consultant’s final report in the first phase of the bridge project.
This report goes to the board of the NCC in the third week of January for approval.
The commission generated a storm of opposition in the fall when its consultants proposed Kettle Island as the preferred route, since it would be a major disruption to Ottawa residents in the Manor Park-Rockcliffe Park neighbourhoods.
The report includes proposals to widen the roads approaching the bridge in both Gatineau and Ottawa, and building a bridge with long spans of 200 metres over the navigational channel.
The report says the Kettle Island site is the “best balanced” of 12 alternative routes examined. Ottawa politicians in the city’s east end have urged the NCC and its consultants to look at a route farther east, via Lower Duck Island.
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