It doesn’t look like Timmins city council is going to approve a concrete barrier down the middle of Rae Hill, just east of Schumacher.
A report at last night’s council meeting
outlined what the project – as part of connecting link work this coming summer – would entail, and how much it would cost.
Valerie McGirr of the engineering firm Aecon said overall, the 800-metre long barrier would cost $2.4 million.
“A median barrier is not warranted on Highway 101,” she advised, “ and you have this reminder that unwarranted expenditures will reduce funds available for other work.”
South Porcupine Councillor Mickey Auger strongly disagreed. He recounted how he has been in two accidents on Rae Hill. One was a head-on crash in which the other driver died.
“So I go through there all the time,” he said,” and I know the conditions of the road and I always said there should be a barrier on that road, because when you lose control of your car, you’re going to hit the wall and you’re not going to hit someone else head-on. That’s the problem. When you hit somebody head-on, you’re done.
The barrier comes back to council for a vote on February 5th. Consensus seems to be not to install it.