Guelph/Eramosa approves transfer of two roads to county
One road, bridge also transferring from county to township
BRUCEDALE – Guelph/Eramosa council has approved the transfer of two roads from the township to the county, as well as one road and a bridge from the county to the township.
According to a Feb. 23 report to township council, the County of Wellington maintains its road network at a Class 2 standard which requires 24-hour patrolling for winter maintenance.
In May 2017 a county roads committee report recommended lower tier municipalities upload roads to the county when traffic volumes meet the Class 2 specifications for three consecutive years.
The conditions have been met on Speedvale Avenue West, from Guelph city limit to Wellington Road 32, and on Township Road 3, from Wellington Road 30 to Highway 7.
Additionally, a Jan. 13 county roads committee report recommended the transfer of Wellington Road 49, including a bridge, from the county to township.
“These are roads that have massive volumes ... and once they reach a certain clip level they should be county or regional roads. Ones that are less volume should be ours,” said Mayor Chris White.
Councillor Mark Bouwmeester said he is worried about future costs of replacing the bridge on Wellington Road 49, which was constructed in collaboration with the Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) and features a dam structure.
“I’ve got to believe that ... adds to the cost once you get into rehabbing or ultimately rebuilding the bridge,” said Bouwmeester.
“The dam structure is separate and owned by the GRCA,” said director of public works Harry Niemi.
He told council the bridge was inspected last year and was deemed in good condition. However, the bridge was noted to be a “candidate for some rehab in the next 10 years.”
“I think this is a good deal,” said White. “We get two really high-volume roads that are going to need a lot more rehabilitation than 49 will and then the bridges are a little bit of a wash.”
Councillor Corey Woods brought forth the issue of renaming the transferred roads.
“Township Road 3 is no longer a township road ... and Wellington Road 49 is no longer a Wellington County road ... there’s going to be two roads that are changing name,” said Woods.
“The biggest impact will be [Township Road] 3,” said Niemi. “Wellington Road 49, not as much, there’s actually only four properties from 124 south to the bend that have a Wellington Road 49 address.”
Whether or not a road name change is required will be up to the county.
White told council he would prefer not to change the road names, citing other roads across the province with old names and new ownership.
All road transfers were approved following a unanimous vote from council.
