With three collisions in the span of 15 days resulting in multiple injuries and one death, Sudbury NDP MPP Jamie West is reiterating his call for the province to finish four-laning Highway 69.
“Four-laning Highway 69 will save lives, but not one kilometre has been tendered since 2018, let alone the 68 kilometres Doug Ford promised,” West said in a media release issued this week.
“Meanwhile, preventable accidents continue, and people continue to be injured and killed.”
A 14-kilometre stretch was completed last year, but an NDP spokesperson clarified this work was tendered at a cost of $173.4 million by the Ontario Liberals in 2016.
The Liberals promised to complete the highway’s four-laning for two decades and failed to get it done, according to the release, which also notes the Progressive Conservatives have similarly neglected the project in their four years on the job.
“The good people of Sudbury are fed-up – with broken Liberal promises and Doug Ford’s empty words,” according to the media release issued by the Ontario NDP Caucus.
“If Mr. Ford can’t keep his promise, then he should commit to meeting the families who’ve lost loved ones on Highway 69 and explain why he won’t get the job done.”
Sudbury.com reached out to Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney’s office for comment and received a written response from senior communications advisor and press secretary Dakota Brasier.
“Our government is fulfilling its promise of completing the final kilometres of the Highway 69 widening project,” according to the statement.
“The ministry is working to finish the remaining corridor, which will improve traffic flow and safety while supporting businesses and economic growth in Northern Ontario.
“Unlike the previous Liberal government who could only deliver broken promises, we are advancing this important work on Highway 69, and getting it done for the people of Sudbury.”
Sudbury.com requested a projected timeline for the completion of the Highway 69 widening project, but Brasier did not respond.
