LaSalle council is being asked to approve the expropriation of land along Malden Road to allow for the reconstruction of the busy roadway.
An administration report going to the Tuesday, May 13 meeting of the council asks for the approval of the expropriation of land for phase 1 of the Malden Road expansion.
This past February, council began expropriation by serving notice to the impacted property owners.
LaSalle Mayor Crystal Meloche says after they put out the advertisement regarding expropriation, residents had a chance to decide if they wanted a hearing.
"We didn't receive any of those, which is a good thing," she says. "Now council can make the decision on the final expropriation, and we can move forward with the actual purchase of those properties and negotiations with those property owners."
The town will now serve a notice of expropriation to the owners and begin the valuation process with compensation determined in conjunction with the appraiser and in consultation with the owners.
Meloche says it's a good thing to get beyond the need for a hearing.
"This is really key in us moving forward. As soon as we're able to come to an agreement and move forward with the purchase of those properties, then we can actually start doing the work and do the utility relocations. Then people are going to start seeing shovels in the ground," she says.
A total of 20 properties will be expropriated during phase 1, which stretches from Normandy Street moving south to Suzanne Street.
The project will require 10 feet of land on each side of Malden Road.
Meloche says construction is expected to begin next spring.
"This part has taken longer than we anticipated. So once this is done, the next phase is that people will see some work as far as utility relocations go. So they will see some of that work going through 2025, and we would expect construction to actually begin in 2026," she says.
The next step in the expropriation process for phase 2 will not begin until the phase 1 process is complete.
Another 40 properties will be impacted as part of phase 2 that stretches from Suzanne Street moving south to Rosati Drive.