The Fenelon Falls second crossing study planning started in mid-2019. The City of Kawartha Lakes, through their consultant Dillon Consulting Limited, undertook a two-phased Municipal Class Environment Assessment. The study was originally started as a result of the City's Transportation Master Plan and, more recently, the Fenelon Falls Corridor Study, which identified the need for additional roadway capacity across the Trent-Severn Waterway as a way to reduce vehicle delays in the corridor during peak traffic demand times.

During the study it was identified that a second crossing was needed in Fenelon Falls and that the existing intersection of Helen St., Lindsay St. and Elliot St. needed to be improved as it was identified as a bottleneck for traffic flowing through Fenelon Falls.