Hwy 62/Cty Rd 1 roundabout construction to begin next spring

By Sharon Harrison
The long-awaited fix to improve the intersection where Highway 62 meets County Road 1 (Schoharie Road), just north of Bloomfield, is expected with construction of a new roundabout to begin in spring 2027 – with a current estimate for completion at 120 days.

The intersection has seen many vehicular accidents in recent years, some of them serious. After looking at various options, the choice of a single-lane roundabout was approved by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation in 2024.

An update on the intersection improvements was provided at Wednesday’s planning and development committee meeting where Mark McCullloch, consultant project manager, Stantec Consulting Ltd., and Ben Goernert, senior project engineer, Ontario Ministry of Transportation, shared design details and the construction plans.

“Back in 2024, there was a preliminary design undertaken and a class environmental assessment study”, said McCullloch. “It examined various intersection improvements looking at different options, and ultimately identified a roundabout as the recommended and most favourable option to move forward for the improvement due to the high number of safety concerns and a high frequency of accidents at the intersection.”

He said since then they have made some refinements and improvements to the design, particularly as a result of public input, but also to accommodate farm vehicles.

The proposed design generally follows the preliminary design with some minor refinements, he said.

“The refined recommended plan includes a mountable exterior curb with asphalt shoulder to accommodate large/farm vehicles. Minor increase to the roundabout approach roadway curve radii compared to the preliminary design plan to provide a more gradual deceleration for vehicle comfort when approaching the roundabout.

“From a farmer’s perspective, it appears it looks okay,” added councillor (and farmer) Phil Prinzen.

Plantings, especially at the south-west quadrant which is being encroached by the design, will be reinstated along the edge as much as possible, with landscaping along the approaches and in the central island. And there will be a number of culvert replacements and re-alignment of ditches, plus a couple of properties will have new accesses constructed, along with new illumination at the roundabout.

During construction, people can expect some temporary impacts with traffic management, temporary widening with asphalt to accommodate lane shifts, and there will be some closures which will be managed through flagging, with the potential for some short duration closures.

Accesses to businesses and private properties will be maintained throughout construction.

“I can’t tell you how much we need this project completed, it has been a very long time coming,” said mayor Steve Ferguson, who also enquired what the cost to the ministry is going to be.

McCullloch confirmed the construction costs would be in the region of $7-8 million. That does not include the cost of acquiring land from some of the adjoining private property owners.

A public information centre is planned for Sept. 1, from 4-7 p.m. at the Wellington and District Community Centre where the public can look at the design and learn more about the project, as well as provide feedback.