The Ministry of Transportation has released more details about the impending expansion of Highway 7 – including when and where construction will begin.

Work will begin next spring on widening the Conestoga Parkway overpass over Guelph Street in Kitchener, ministry spokesperson Liane Fisher told CTV News in an email.

After that, she said, crews will turn their attention to widening Victoria Street – which will require bridge replacement work – and building the Shirley Avenue extension.

That work is expected to involve significant utility relocations.

Meanwhile, work is continuing on land acquisition for the future route of the new freeway connecting Kitchener to Guelph.

Expropriation plans were registered last month for 84 properties along the route, Fisher said, although negotiations with landowners continue.

Those properties are all expected to be in the province’s hands by January.

A further 59 properties are changing hands without going through the expropriation process.

In total, the property acquisition cost is pegged at approximately $70 million.

Previously, total costs for the entire project were estimated at $400 million.