No. H119/06For release
September 29, 2006
SAULT STE. MARIE The Government of Canada, the Province of Ontario and the
City of Sault Ste. Marie today marked the completion of the new transportation
corridor leading to the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge.
The Honourable Donna Cansfield, Ontario's Transportation Minister and Sault Ste.
Marie's Mayor John Rowswell officially opened the transportation corridor. A
total of $11.2 million was shared between the Government of Canada and the
Province of Ontario. The City of Sault Ste. Marie also contributed $1.4 million
for construction, as well as $6.3 million for the purchase of required property.
"Sault Ste. Marie is the 9th busiest Canada-United States crossing and Canada's
new government is proud that this route could finally be completed," said
Minister Cannon. "This transportation corridor is designed to ease local
congestion, which will reduce emissions into the air and improve access between
Ontario and Michigan."
"Sault Ste. Marie is an important northern gateway. More than 130,000 commercial
trucks carry about $3.5 billion of goods across the International Bridge every
year," said Cansfield. "The new truck route will reduce delays and save
commercial carriers about $1 million a year."
The new truck route, which will also be shared by cars, was designed to ease
local congestion and improve access to the International Bridge connecting
Ontario and Michigan. The new transportation corridor connects Highway 17 with
the International Bridge via the Second Line Road and Hudson Street, and
provides a more direct connection to Interstate 75 in Michigan. Trucks will
bypass Sault Ste. Marie's downtown area. The new route will reduce travel time
for trucks and eliminate several 90-degree turns, making roads safer for
residents of Sault Ste. Marie.
"This long awaited transportation corridor moves trucks out of the downtown
area, allows traffic on the west side of the city to move quickly to the city's
centre, and lets us immediately advance Sault Ste. Marie as a multimodal
transportation hub," said Mayor Rowswell.
In the 2006 Federal Budget, Canada's new government has committed an
unprecedented $16.5 billion over the next four years for provincial, territorial
and municipal infrastructure, including $2.4 billion over the next five years
from the Highways and
Border Infrastructure Fund.
This year, the Government of Ontario is investing more than $1.4 billion in
highway improvements through its five-year ReNew Ontario infrastructure
investment plan. The Ontario government has also invested an additional $400
million under Move Ontario, which municipalities may use for improvements to
municipal roads and bridges.
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Contacts:
Natalie Sarafian
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Transport,
Infrastructure and Communities, Ottawa
613-991-0700
Neal Kelly
Minister's Office
Ontario Ministry of Transportation,
Toronto
16-327-9134
Linda Licari
Communications
Transport Canada, Ottawa
613-993-0055
Bob Nichols
Ontario Ministry of Transportation,
Communications Branch
416-327-1158
Jerry Dolcetti
City of Sault Ste. Marie
705-759-5384
Transport Canada is online at www.tc.gc.ca. Subscribe to news releases and speeches at
apps.tc.gc.ca/listserv/ and keep up-to-date on the latest from Transport Canada.
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