The Provincial Government is providing $20 million in 2016-17 to municipalities across the province through the Connecting Links program to make roads and bridges safer, create economic growth, and create or sustain jobs.
It was announced last week that Wallaceburg would receive $3M of that total: Wallaceburg receives $3M for road work
This was welcomed news for Chatham-Kent Mayor Randy Hope.
“Adequate road networks support economic development and quality of life in Chatham-Kent,” Hope said in a press release.
“The Province’s investment will ensure the connecting link transportation corridor in Chatham-Kent between Highway 401 and Highway 402 is viable and supports both our local economy and those of surrounding communities.”
Connecting Link infrastructure in Chatham-Kent comprises 11.9 km of roadway and five structures resulting in an annual lifecycle investment requirement of $2.1M, municipal officials said.
The connecting link program was discontinued in 2013.
Since that time, representatives from Chatham-Kent and many other Ontario communities have met with the Ministry of Transportation to advocate for a funding program specifically for connecting links.
Chatham-Kent officials said the Province heard what the communities had to say and announced the new Connecting Links program in the fall of 2015.
Connecting links are municipal roads or bridges that connect two ends of a provincial highway through a community or to a border crossing.
Connecting Links funding covers up to 90 percent of eligible project costs, to a maximum of $3 million.
The eligible costs are for the design, construction, renewal, rehabilitation and replacement of connecting link infrastructure.
Chatham-Kent’s 2016 application for connecting link funding includes portions of Murray Street and McNaughton Avenue in Wallaceburg.
The $3M is a “significant investment and Chatham-Kent recognizes the hard work of the Provincial Government, specifically the Ministry of Transportation, in developing a new connecting links program to support Ontario’s communities and invest in infrastructure,” municipal officials stated.
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Why can’t we use half of that money to keep our hospital open??????? I am quite sure people in Wallaceburg wouldn’t mind a bumpy road if we get to keep our ER…..