Ontario Invests in Municipal Road and Bridge Repairs

LAMBTON SHORES — The Ontario government is investing $30 million to help 14 municipalities repair roads and bridges through the Connecting Links Program. Eligible costs include the design, construction, renewal, rehabilitation and replacement of municipal roads and bridges that connect two ends of a provincial highway through a community or to a border crossing.

Details were provided today by Caroline Mulroney, Minister of Transportation, and Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development.

“By investing in our roads and bridges we’re connecting people to jobs, supporting the movement of goods and creating economic growth in local communities,” said Caroline Mulroney, Minister of Transportation. “This funding not only helps municipalities maintain local infrastructure, but also supports projects that make roads safer, such as improvements to pedestrian crossings.”

Through the Connecting Links Program, funding will be provided to eligible municipalities of up to 90 per cent of eligible project costs, up to a maximum of $3 million for road projects. In response to municipal feedback, starting in 2021-22, the province is permanently raising the maximum amount of available funding for bridge projects from $3 million to $5 million to reflect the higher costs of maintaining and repairing bridges compared to roads.

“The 2021 Budget provides significant support to families, workers and businesses,” said Monte McNaughton, MPP for Lambton-Kent-Middlesex. “This includes upgrading critical infrastructure in Lambton Shores – a tourism hub for much of Southwestern Ontario – with the replacement and widening of the Ontario Street bridge in Grand Bend, which will bring significant economic growth to our community for many years to come.”

“Connecting Links are roads that are important to both local residents and the provincial transportation network as a whole,” said Bill Weber, Mayor of Lambton Shores. “It’s important to have provincial funding that helps ensure these key roads and bridges are kept in good repair.”

Eligible municipalities are also encouraged to apply for the 2022-23 Connecting Links Program, which will be open to applications later this year.

Quick Facts

• The funding being announced today is part of the province’s commitment of more than $21 billion in highway, road and bridge projects over the next 10 years, which will contribute significantly to Ontario’s COVID-19 recovery.
• Connecting Links projects are reviewed based on technical need and safety considerations such bridge and road condition, need for repair in the near term and cost effectiveness.
• Eligible costs include the design, construction, renewal, rehabilitation and replacement of municipal roads and bridges that connect two ends of a provincial highway through a community or to a border crossing.
• In Ontario, there are a total of 352 kilometres of Connecting Links, with 70 bridges in 77 municipalities.

SOURCE  Province of Ontario