Kettle Island in the city's east end isn't the only site that should stay in the running for a new interprovincial crossing, says the City of Ottawa's transportation committee.

A crossing further east, at Lower Duck Island, should also be studied further, the committee recommended Monday.

The committee issued the recommendation after a 14-hour meeting that included a presentation by the National Capital Commission and more than 50 public presentations.

The NCC presentation reconfirmed Kettle Island as the preferred site for a new bridge over the Ottawa River linking Ontario and Quebec, based on the first phase of an environmental assessment study.

The federal agency was seeking the support of local municipalities and provincial governments to go ahead with the second phase of the study, which was to look only at the Kettle Island corridor. To build the corridor, Aviation Parkway near the Rockcliffe Airport would be extended across the river to connect with Paiement Rise in Gatineau, passing through the west side of Kettle Island.

However, many residents living near Kettle Island complained the corridor is too heavily populated, and advocated putting the bridge at Lower Duck Island, near Canotek business park and the Robert O. Pickard wastewater treatment plant.

City council must decide Wednesday whether to endorse the committee's recommendation and ask the NCC to consider both east-end corridors for the second phase of the environmental assessment study.

The first phase concluded that the Kettle Island corridor would be the cheapest, have the smallest environmental impact and divert the most traffic out of 10 possible corridors.

The study, conducted by consultants ROCHE-NCE, was funded by the NCC, and the provincial governments of Ontario and Quebec January 2007 and October 2008. Part of the study included public consultations and input from a technical committee that included representatives from different levels of government.

The second phase of the study is to look at the potential social, economic, heritage and transportation impacts of the bridge, and measures to minimize or mitigate those effects.