The Town of Hawkesbury is going to request that the United Counties of Prescott and Russell (UCPR) assume responsibility for Main Street within town limits.
At a special meeting on Thursday, April 17, Hawkesbury council adopted a resolution requesting the transfer of responsibility for the 3.3 kilometre/two-mile section of road. Hawkesbury Mayor Robert Lefebvre is to introduce a notice of motion at the Wednesday, April 23 UCPR council meeting which will introduce the transfer motion for consideration at the May 28 council meeting.
A report written by Lefebvre explains having Main Street as part of the county road system will comply with the UCPR Official Plan and recognize the street’s role as a connector route between local towns and villages, provincial highways, and the Long Sault Bridge.
Front Road East and West/County Road 4 are on each side of Hawkesbury. Before the completion of Le Chenail Boulevard in the early 2000s, Main Street was under the responsibility of the Ontario Ministry of Transportation between McGill Street and John Street.
Lefebvre’s report outlines the importance of Main Street as a connector route because of traffic reaching it from the Long Sault Bridge, the Highway 34 connecting link via McGill Street, Cameron Street, and Tupper Street from County Road 17. The daily traffic count on Tupper Street between Main Street and County Road 17 is 6,123 vehicles per day. For Cameron Street between Main Street and County Road 17, it is 4,082 vehicles per day. Commuter statistics also indicate 3,835 vehicles per day commute into Hawkesbury.
Traffic statistics for Main Street are even higher. During a 12-day period in 2023, 81,930 vehicles travelled in both directions at the western town limit. During a similar nine-day period, 60,950 vehicles travelled on Main Street in both directions at the eastern town limit.
“There’s a lot of volume of traffic,” Lefebvre said in a conversation with The Review.
If the UCPR does assume responsibility for Main Street in Hawkesbury, it would not be responsible for the cost of any capital projects taking place on the street in 2025, including the rehabilitation of the Louis P. Cécile Bridge. Lefebvre’s report estimates it currently costs the Town of Hawkesbury $15,000 to $20,000 per year to maintain Main Street. In the winter, UCPR maintenance vehicles already drive on the street between the sections of Front Road under UCPR responsibility. If the UCPR took over Main Street in Hawkesbury, those vehicles would be plowing the snow along the road.
Currently, every other urban area in the UCPR has arterial or major collector roads which are part of the county road system. These include County Road 10/Main Street in Vankleek Hill, County Road 17/St-Philippe Street in Alfred, and County Road 1/Longueuil Street in L’Orignal.
“We have no county roads in the Town of Hawkesbury,” Lefebvre remarked.
The mayor’s report highlights how the town regularly contributes tax revenue to the UCPR Department of Public Works (DPW), but the town does not have any roads under UCPR jurisdiction. In 2024, the UCPR’s tax requisition to Hawkesbury was $ 4,764,558, and 35.1 per cent or $1,672,360 was for the DPW. The UCPR’s 2025 tax requisition from Hawkesbury is $4,914,539, and $1,798,721 or 36.6 per cent of that amount is for the DPW.
Hawkesbury town staff will continue to assess the viability of the potential transfer of Main Street to the UCPR. If UCPR council agrees to take over responsibility for the street, the transfer would take effect on January 1, 2026.
