Land deals nearly complete for Cornwall bypass project, province says

The P.E.I. government says it needs to finalize three more land deals to move forward with the Cornwall bypass project.

Nine land purchases, including two expropriations, were finalized before Oct. 31.

Deals for 12 of the 15 remaining properties were completed within the last week, said Steven Yeo, chief engineer for the Department of Transportation.

Mostly farmland

There were no further expropriations, Yeo said. Most of the properties the province has acquired are farmland, he added.

"There's a lot of back and forth, but it's great when we can come to an agreement and proceed with the construction work we need to do," Yeo said.

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The province hopes to have the final three deals completed by spring, Yeo said.  

"We're certainly trying to be as fair as we can be so it's ongoing and that's all I can say at this time."

On budget, province says

Yeo couldn't give final numbers until all the properties have been purchased, but said the overall budget for the project is on target, including the $3 million to $4 million they budgeted for the land. 

The land negotiations haven't slowed down the timeline for the project, he added. 

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