The County of Renfrew says it is “deeply concerned” about the lack of funding for the further expansion of Highway 417 to Renfrew and beyond.
County Warden Peter Emon wrote to Ontario Minister of Transportation Prabmeet Sarkaria last month to request a meeting to discuss the issue.
Emon said the county was “shocked and disappointed to see no mention of Highway 17 twinning” in the province’s fall economic statement.
Emon said the Ontario highways program features 635 expansion and rehabilitation projects that are either underway or planned over the next four years “and Highway 17 twinning in our community is not one of them.”
“In 2024-25 alone, the Province of Ontario has reported investing almost $3.9 billion towards projects that will expand and repair provincial highways and bridges, and again no further investment in twinning Highway 17 in our community.”
“Our residents are quite correctly asking why money is being set aside for such projects as the Bradford By Pass, Highway 413, the estimated $1.2B uploading of the Don Valley Parkway and the Gardner (Expressway),” Emon said.
“I travel in the Toronto region a lot and can offer comment to address the need, but I fail to provide compelling rationale when the conversation turns to equity and which community has been waiting (patiently) the longest”…
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