The Apple Press headline in its Summer 1995 issue reads “ A Nightmare On Annapolis Drive,” but in fact it was more of a nightmare for residents along Annapolis, Whitney, Breezy Brae, Johnathan, Candish Lane, Melton and Stanfield Road.
It was a long dusty and noisy summer in Westacres thanks to a project known as the Hanlan Feedermain.
This massive project called for the installation of a new, high pressure, seven-foot diameter (2.1 meter) water main running from the Lakeview Water Treatment Plant to service new developments in the City of Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon up to the year 2031. The contract administrator and consultant for the construction of the feedermain were Ontario Clean Water Agency (OCWA) and KMK Construction respectively.
On May 16,1995 contract No. 3, Project Number 5-0020-53 sprang to life and the residents of Applewood Acres endured a summer long construction project of massive proportions.
The feedermain starts at the Lakeview Water Treatment Plant and runs northward entering Applewood Acres at The North Service Road and Annapolis Road. From there it continues north to Whitney Drive, east to Breezy Brae and then north to Johnathan Drive. It then swings north along Candish Lane and then east on Melton Drive to Stanfield Road and continues north from there.
As you drive along the route in Applewood Acres you will notice that a number of homes have boulders on the front lawns. These boulders were removed during the excavation and offered to the residents.
The total cost of the project exceeded $32 million and required some fascinating construction techniques. As an example, when the water main route crossed the QEW the contractors had to use hard-rock tunnel boring equipment and actually tunneled under the highway at a depth of 95 feet (28.9 metres). Once across the highway, the water main enters Applewood at a depth of 20 feet (6 metres). The depth under the roads in Applewood would vary between 10 feet and 20 feet (3 to 6 metres) depending on what utilities had to be accommodated.
The Stanfield Road portion, north from Melton and under The Queensway, was tunneled at a depth of 65 feet (19.8 metres).
The contract was awarded on May 16, 1995 and work started on June 7th with a scheduled completion date of December 15th. The actual date of what they called ‘substantial performance’ was November 21, 1995. The final reinstatement of the roads with asphalt was July 31, 1996. The final certificate for the project was issued September 29, 1997.
This project was, without a doubt, the largest single works project ever undertaken through Applewood Acres. While there have been several works projects done over the years, some of which seemed to drag on and on endlessly, this one was the most spectacular and probably will never be topped.
The impact of this project was not limited to the roads on which the construction was taking place. As you can imagine, an excavation of this size did from time to time close off other roads in the area.
The Hanlan Feedermain was originally owned by the Ontario Clean Water Agency but was downloaded to the Regional Municipality of Peel in 1998 by the Ministry of Environment (MOE).