Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Find answers to common questions about the QEW Garden City Skyway Bridge Twinning Project.
Project Purpose
The project scope includes:
- Construction of a 2.2 km twin Garden City Skyway bridge connecting the Niagara Region, City of St. Catharines and Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake.
- Widening the QEW approaches (including on and off ramp reconfiguration) to the new bridge.
- The new bridge will be held up by piers, so the realignment and reconfiguration of some local roads will be necessary to accommodate the new bridge.
- Construction of a pier protection systems in the Welland Canal.
- Construction of retaining walls, drainage and stormwater management ponds.
- Relocation of affected utilities.
The bridge was constructed in 1963, and the bridge deck has never been replaced. It will require rehabilitation including a full deck replacement. It would not be possible to maintain six active traffic lanes while rehabilitating/replacing the bridge deck. The existing narrow shoulders on the current bridge are undesirable for the safe operation of traffic and emergency response.
The bridge twinning project will meet an identified future highway expansion needed in the area of Highway 405 and the Queen Elizabeth Way, as outlined in: A Transportation Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, which was released in March 2022. The plan includes a long-term recommendation to widen the QEW from Halton through Hamilton and Niagara Region to Highway 405 with timing of construction subject to province wide highway expansion prioritization and availability of funding.
Construction & Schedule
Components of the proposed design that will impact traffic include:
Realignment of municipal roads including portions of Dieppe Road, Dunkirk Road, Queenston Street, York Road, Niagara Stone Road, Taylor Road, Welland Canals Parkway (including Welland Canals Parkway Trail), Coon Road, Queenston Road.
Minor changes to the speed-change lanes of the eastbound on-ramp and westbound off-ramp will be done at Niagara Street Interchange and the westbound on-ramp and eastbound off-ramp to Glendale Avenue South at the Glendale Avenue Interchange.
The eastbound Niagara Interchange ramps will be realigned slightly to accommodate QEW alignment shifts and to accommodate new auxiliary lanes (i.e. truck-climbing lanes) that will be continuous in both directions.
East of the Welland Canal, the Glendale Avenue Interchange eastbound off-ramp and westbound on-ramp speed-change lanes will be modified to accommodate the new continuous auxiliary lanes (i.e. truck-climbing lanes).
MTO and IO recently consulted with Niagara Region, the City of St. Catharines, and Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake and received recent traffic flow data and construction standards to better inform project planning for the affected roadways.
Information has also been obtained from the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation and the Niagara District Airport to ensure construction meets necessary requirements that will ensure continued vessel passage.
See the Project Updates page for more details on current road closures and detours.
A preliminary landscape plan was prepared as part of the 2017 TESR (Chapter 8.0) and will serve as the base scope for the implementation of the project. The plan will be refined during the Detail Design Phase. The preliminary plan identified pieces of land that can be seeded with grass and serve as an area for passive recreation. Vegetation will be restored on the south side of the bridge, and the row of trees along the west side of the Welland Canal Parkway that act as a visual screen framing the view of the waterfront will be protected where feasible and enhanced to restore the character of the space.
Environment & Heritage
As part of the 2017 Environmental Assessment, an effects assessment was completed and detailed in the TESR (Chapter 8.1), identifying potential environmental impacts of the recommended plan, and associated recommended mitigation measures.
A construction administration and monitoring program will be conducted throughout the duration of the project, with both the contractor and contract administration teams required to have Environmental Inspectors on site. These inspectors will ensure all environmental mitigation and design measures are properly installed, constructed, and maintained, and that appropriate contingency response plans are implemented where required.
Environmental measures to mitigate dust and noise will be in place for the contract.
The majority of the study area has been cleared of any archaeological concern. Stage 1 Archaeological Assessments were completed as part of the TESR (Chapter 8.3), and MTO has since completed Stage 2, 3, and 4 Archaeological Assessments of the project and surrounding area.
As part of the project’s detailed design, minor refinements to the study area limits included lands that were previously unassessed. A Stage 1 Archeological Assessment is ongoing to determine whether these lands retain archeological potential and if further assessment is required.
Should the proposed work extend beyond the current project area, or should changes to the project design or temporary workspace requirements result in the inclusion of previously unsurveyed lands, these lands should also be subject to an archaeological assessment.
Road and bridge improvements and construction have the potential to adversely affect cultural heritage landscapes and built heritage resources by displacement and disruption both during and after construction. Built heritage resources and cultural heritage landscapes may experience direct impacts (demolition or removal) if they are located within the right-of-way of the undertaking, as well as potential indirect impacts such as the introduction of physical, visual, audible or atmospheric elements that can change the character and/or setting.
To minimize the potential for construction noise effects, several mitigation measures were recommended in the TESR (Chapter 7.8) including using effective muffling devices where possible. Construction activities associated with the proposed works will vary temporarily and spatially as the project progresses.
Using all the above-mentioned surveys, commitments to future work have been prepared to mitigate impacts to wildlife. These include but are not limited to conducting surveys and inspection prior to work in sensitive areas, reviewing opportunities for improving wildlife passage through enhanced wildlife structures below the Garden City Skyway Bridge, and implementing noise mitigation and monitoring.
Legislation & Policy
For the purposes of 24/7 construction activities, most municipal by-laws are inoperative to the extent that the by-law prevents or restricts the delivery of goods or services to a designated priority highway project. Certain exceptions imposed by by-laws will continue to apply, including weight restrictions on bridges, speed limits, and closures of municipal roads for maintenance, construction, and special events. These provisions apply only where the Minister designates a priority highway project or part of such a project in a regulation.