Answer: The project limits are located within the Town of Milton (Halton Region) and the Township of Puslinch (Wellington County) from Steeles Avenue in Milton to 1.5 km west of the Halton-Wellington boundary (approximately 17 km).

Answer:

This Project will follow the approved planning process for a Group ‘B’ project under the MTO Class Environmental Assessment for Provincial Transportation Facilities (amended 2000).

Alternatives will be generated and evaluated based on technical and environmental factors, and in consultation with Indigenous Communities, public, stakeholders, municipalities, and government agencies.

The Project Team will assess environmental impacts and prescribe mitigation measures to be carried forward for the subsequent Detail Design phase of the Project. Online Public Information Centres (PICs) will be held during this study to provide interested parties with the opportunity to discuss the study and provide input to the Project Team. Upon study completion, a Transportation Environmental Study Report (TESR) will be prepared and available for a 30-day comment period.

Answer: This study includes the consideration of potential improvements along the Highway 401 corridor to address both existing and long-term transportation and operational needs within the study limits. Possible improvements that will be investigated as part of this study include additional capacity expansion, High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes, and bridge, illumination, drainage, and interchange modifications.

Answer: Projects to the east and west of the study limits, recommending improvements to address capacity issues along Highway 401, have been completed and are currently in various stages of design and/or construction. A Preliminary Design and Environmental Assessment study has yet to be conducted for the section of Highway 401 within the Project’s limits and is therefore being undertaken at this time.

Answer: Consultation and engagement will take place throughout the Project with public stakeholders, members of the public, Indigenous Communities, regulatory agencies and municipalities.

Two online Public Information Centres (PICs) are planned for this Project to provide interested parties with the opportunity to discuss the project and provide input to the Project team. The first PIC will present the project overview, evaluation criteria and the generation of alternatives. The second PIC will present the evaluation of alternatives, the preliminary design recommended plan and measures to mitigate potential impacts.

Upon study completion, a Transportation Environmental Study Report (TESR) will be prepared and available for a 30-day comment period.

Answer: All notifications for this Project, including Notice of Commencement, Notification of Public Information Centres (PICs) and Notice of Study Completion (advertising the availability of the TESR for review) will be published in the Wellington Advertiser paper, on Inside Halton as well as distributed to those on the Project’s contact list. All notices will be made available on the project website.

Notice of Study Commencement was delivered to the Project’s contact list and advertised in the above papers on November 30, 2023.

To be notified of future Project milestones join our contact list.

Answer: For up-to-date project information, and to participate in the EA Study, please visit the Project’s website and join the Project’s contact list. 

Answer: The Project team will consult with staff from Wellington County, the Township of Puslinch, the Town of Milton, and Halton Region as well as regulatory agencies. Consultation will take place at the Project’s key milestones and throughout the preliminary design and Environmental Assessment.

Answer: Field and desktop investigations for disciplines such as geotechnical, natural sciences (fisheries and terrestrial), archaeology, cultural heritage, noise, contaminated property and waste management, groundwater, land use, landscape composition, erosion and sediment control, snow drift, air quality, drainage etc. will be completed to collect background / existing conditions information.

These environmental investigations are ongoing. Following these investigations and completion of the recommended preliminary design plan, the Project team will determine potential environmental impacts and develop mitigation measures to avoid or minimize potential impacts as best as possible.

The results of these investigations and the proposed environmental mitigation and protection strategies will be documented in applicable study reports and summarized in the final TESR.

Answer: The Project commenced in November of 2023. It is anticipated to continue until the end of 2026. PICs are tentatively scheduled to take place in February 2025 and January 2026.

Answer: The Project team is currently undertaking a Preliminary Design and EA Study. The timeframe for the Detail Design stage and construction is not known at this time.

If you have received a Permission to Enter (PTE) letter, the Ministry is requesting to access your property to complete the required fieldwork and / or investigations necessary for the Project. The Ministry is requesting that the “Permission to Enter” form (included with your Permission to Enter Package) be signed by the Property Owner, to permit members of the Project Team to undertake the environmental field surveys and engineering investigations necessary to support the Preliminary Design Class EA Study. Fieldwork is a vital part of the study, and the data collected supports the Project with identifying existing environmental conditions and informs decisions on all aspects of the Project.  

The Ministry’s request to access your property does not mean your property is directly affected by the project or that it will be acquired. Direct property impacts will be determined during future phases of the Project once the alternative improvements to the highway have been assessed and a preferred approach to addressing existing and future transportation and operational needs has been identified.  

Access to your property may be required on one or more occasions throughout the Study, which is anticipated to be completed by December 21, 2026. The Ministry recognizes the sensitivity of this request for access and will work with Property Owners to schedule fieldwork and provide advance notice of the planned investigations via phone call or email. Please review the form, retain a copy for your files and return a signed copy back to the Project Team. If you have any questions about the proposed fieldwork or require assistance in completing the form, please contact us. 

Many types of fieldwork are required for this Preliminary Design and Class EA Study ranging from visual surveys to subsurface investigations completed with large equipment. By signing and submitting the PTE form you are providing the Project Team access your property to complete Category A, B, and / or C levels of investigations: 

Category A – Visual Observations.  

Category B – Investigations which may require small test holes dug by hand or ploughing of agricultural fields. 

Category C – Subsurface investigations and potential access by large equipment. 

Category A – Visual Observations may include the collection of field data and existing conditions through environmental and engineering surveys, photographs, mapping, or similar activities. This work may include: 

• Environmental Investigations by natural resource (e.g., fisheries, wildlife, wetland, vegetation), groundwater, drainage, land use, contamination, waste management, agricultural, archaeology, and / or cultural heritage specialists. 
• Engineering Investigations such as engineering topographic surveys.  

Category B – Investigations may require small test holes dug by hand or ploughing of agricultural fields to uncover potential archaeological significant objects or similar activities. This work may involve members of the Project Team digging small holes on your property to observe archaeological resources, or for the purposes of engineering studies required for the Project.  

For properties that are identified for Stage 2 Archaeological Assessments, the assessment methods will include either pedestrian surveys of agricultural fields or subsurface shovel testing for other areas that are not heavily disturbed.  

Shovel testing and / or test pitting includes digging small hand excavation tests pits within lawns or forested areas. All test pits will be 30 cm x 30 cm in size and excavated at least 5 cm into sub-soil. All material from each unit will be screened for artifacts and then all units will be back-filled and recapped to grade. Affected areas will be restored to existing condition upon completion of the survey.  

Pedestrian surveys involve a team walking across the property and/or recently ploughed and weathered fields to visually inspect the soil for archaeological resources or artifacts. If artifacts are located, the team will collect a sample for submission to the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Multiculturalism.  

All archaeological field investigations conducted on your property will be completed in accordance with the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Multiculturalism Standards and Guidelines for Consultant Archaeologists.  In addition, ploughing of agricultural fields prior to archaeological assessment will only be undertaken with consideration of crop status and in coordination with the Property Owner. 

Photos showing Stage 2 archaeological assessments (test pitting and pedestrian survey of an agricultural field) are shown below: 

 Test Pitting (AECOM, 2023)

Pedestrian Surveys (AECOM, 2023)

Category C Investigations are subsurface investigations that may include hand or machine dug holes or boreholes to confirm location of utilities or to collect soil and or groundwater samples. Some subsurface investigations do require access by large equipment (i.e., portable truck or track mounted drill rig, agricultural equipment, vacuum excavator, backhoe or other similar equipment) for soil data collection, test pits to document underground utilities, or similar activities.

Only some properties need geotechnical and groundwater investigations. Any disturbance to lands due to machine access or field investigations will be reinstated to existing conditions following the completion of field work.

When required, the equipment is transferred from the closest accessible road and / or driveway to the borehole site. Tree and shrub removal is sometimes required for access to the drilling site, however vegetation removal on private property will be avoided unless specifically discussed and agreed upon in advance with the Property Owner.

Boreholes (completed with a drill rig, like those pictured below) are a hole (a few inches in diameter) drilled into the ground to collect soil samples. Sometimes a monitoring well is installed within a borehole to collect samples and monitor seasonal variations of groundwater. Should a monitoring well require installation on your property the Project Team will inform you ahead of time. The monitoring well is a steel casing, a few inches in diameter to fit within the borehole and approximately 6 inches tall. The Ministry of Transportation will decommission the monitoring well once the necessary information is collected for the Highway improvements. All affected areas will be restored to existing condition upon completion of the investigation.

Photos of the type of equipment that may be used for borehole drilling work on your property are below:

Portable drill rig (AECOM, 2023)

Truck drill rig (AECOM, 2023