Elgin-Middlesex-London MPP Rob Flack has made it clear on several occasions that Highbury Avenue needs to be widened to four lanes between St. Thomas and London.
And now, the move to do just that is gaining momentum.
On the agenda for Monday’s (April 20) meeting is a motion from Taylor Mooney, the city’s Strategic Initiatives Manager, that council endorse the transfer of responsibility for the City of St. Thomas’ 2.5 km portion of Highbury Avenue between Hwy. 3 and Ron McNeil Line to the province.
And that this resolution be forwarded to the Ontario Ministry of Transportation, with copies to the City of London and the County of Elgin.
The roadway is now carrying up to 50,000 vehicles per day, according to Mooney’s report.
Highbury Avenue originally was Hwy. 126 when it was constructed in the 1960s and was downloaded to municipal ownership in 1991.
The City of St. Thomas, in partnership with the City of London and the County of Elgin, is requesting that the Province of Ontario assume ownership and maintenance of a 21-kilometre stretch of Highbury Avenue from the Thames River South Branch in London to its southern terminus at the Highway 3 roundabout in St. Thomas.
The report to council advises that discussions with the Minister of Transportation have indicated openness to considering this request.
The County of Elgin has identified, through its Transportation Master Plan, that Highbury Avenue (County Road 30) will exceed its current two-lane capacity and require widening to four lanes between 2035 and 2040 at an estimated cost of $150 million.
Meantime, the City of St. Thomas has already invested in upgrades to Highbury Avenue as part of efforts to attract major industry, including improvements completed in 2023 to accommodate projected growth.
Mooney’s report concludes, “Highbury Avenue is increasingly functioning as a provincial-scale asset and should be treated as such.”
Written by Ian McCallum
