Twinning of Garden City Skyway will cast shadow over NOTL

<p><br/></p><p>Long-planned construction of a twin span of the Garden City Skyway is tentatively due to begin in 2024, says the Ontario Ministry of Transportation.</p><p><br/></p><p>The new bridge, to be built north of the old skyway, will affect roads and businesses in southern Niagara-on-the-Lake.</p><p><br/></p><p>The existing skyway will remain open during construction but will be closed for repairs after the new one opens.</p><p>Once repairs are done, the new skyway span will carry Toronto-bound traffic while old bridge will be for Niagara-bound traffic, with four lanes on each bridge, ministry adviser Kimberly Truong told The Lake Report in an email.</p><p><br/></p><p>The work will include maintenance to the substructure and replacement of the concrete deck. The original steel girders will be retained, Truong said.</p><p><br/></p><p>Niagara Stone Road, Queenston Road, Taylor Road, Coon Road, Dieppe Road, York Road and the Welland Canal Parkway Trail will need to be realigned to “accommodate the new highway right-of-way and bridge structure,” said ministry spokesperson Natasha Tremblay.</p><p><br/></p><p>Businesses along the construction path will be affected and some will be bought out by the province. All affected properties have already been contacted, Tremblay said.</p><p><br/></p><p>The plan will go through several phases before construction begins. Preliminary design and planning have been completed and the next step is the detailed design phase.</p><p><br/></p><p>The project is up for tender and until a construction company has been chosen the exact cost will not be known, Tremblay said.</p><p><br/></p><p>The skyway was completed in 1963 at a cost of $20 million, about $180 million with inflation today, according to a 1964 article by the New York Times.</p><p><br/></p><p>A report by engineering firm MMM Group Ltd. in 2014 said the original skyway would be in need of replacement by 2025.</p><p><br/></p>