Ontario Construction News staff writer
Sudbury NDP MPP Jamie West is calling on the Ford government commit funding to the four-laning of Highway 69.
โExpanding the highway is vital for safe and reliable access to Ontarioโs North,โ West said during question period last week. โThere are only 68 kilometres left to four-lane, but we still do not know when this project will be completed.โ
It has been 14 years since the previous Liberal government promised they would complete the four-laning of Highway 69. The Liberals let Sudbury down, and now the Ford Conservatives are also delaying the project. West reminded Doug Ford that the Sudbury Chamber of Commerceโs 2020 budget submission urged the government to provide the funding needed to start work on the next stage of the highway.
โThe Sudbury Chamber of Commerce is calling on the government to expedite this project,โ said West. โThe economic prosperity of our region depends on there being no further delays.โ
Almost a year ago, West asked the Minister of Transportation when northerners could expect the four-laning of Highway 69 to be completed.
West expressed disappointment that despite the ministerโs response at the time that there would be an update in 2019 budget, the budget did not include a single dollar, or any plan to get it done.
โWill the premier continue to string people along โ like the Liberals did for more than a decade โ or will he commit to making Highway 69 a priority in the 2020 budget?โ he asked.