Oakville, Ontario, October 13, 2012 – Residents and businesses of Halton Region are now benefitting from road improvements to Dundas Street (Regional Road 5) and the Sixteen Mile Creek Bridge.
"These upgrades to our roads will reduce traffic congestion in North Oakville, enhance safety and make everyday commutes easier,"
said the Honourable Lisa Raitt, Member of Parliament for Halton and Minister of Labour. "Our government will continue to support local infrastructure improvements as we focus on creating jobs, economic growth and long-term prosperity across Canada."
"The Ontario government has made unprecedented investments in infrastructure in Oakville and across Ontario, creating jobs and strengthening our economy"
said Kevin Flynn, Member of Provincial Parliament for Oakville. "These significant improvements to the Dundas Street Bridge in Oakville will help ensure this bridge is safe for local motorists, cyclists and pedestrians and will reduce gridlock in our Town."
"This is an important infrastructure project for Halton Region,"
said Regional Chair Gary Carr. "Improvements to the Regional road network allows us to meet our future transportation needs and enable Halton residents to move around the Region quicker and easier. This is a top priority of our Citizens' Action Plan."
Improvements included widening Sixteen Mile Creek Bridge (Dundas Street) from four to six lanes between Proudfoot Trail and Neyagawa Blvd. In addition, a new bicycle path and sidewalk were added to both sides of the bridge.
Halton Region directed $9,576,000 of its federal Gas Tax Fund allocation towards this project. The Province of Ontario contributed $3,500,000 through the Municipal Infrastructure Investment Initiative. The remaining balance of this $58.8-million project was provided by the Region.
"Canada's Gas Tax Fund acknowledges that all orders of government must work together to address the pressing need for infrastructure investment in our municipalities," said Russ Powers, President of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO). "Stable and predictable, the Gas Tax Fund is supporting long-term investment in local priority projects right across Ontario the Gas Tax Fund supports investment in local priority projects that lead to job creation and economic growth in communities right across Ontario."
The Gas Tax Fund provides long-term funding to local governments to help them build and revitalize public infrastructure. In December 2011, the Government of Canada passed legislation to make the Gas Tax Fund a permanent annual investment of $2 billion per year. The Government of Canada, through the Gas Tax Fund alone, provides $746 million in funding annually for municipal infrastructure in Ontario. Between 2010 and 2014, Halton Region will receive $53,896,711 from the Gas Tax Fund.
The Government of Canada has engaged provinces, territories, municipalities and key stakeholders in a series of roundtables to guide the development of a new long-term infrastructure plan that will support job creation, economic growth and prosperity. We have heard that we are on the right track: there is a need for strong, sustained investment and we must continue to work together moving forward. To improve infrastructure across Canada and ensure affordability and sustainability over the long term, our new plan will encourage greater use of public-private partnerships. This will help leverage new investments in infrastructure while respecting the capacity of Canadian taxpayers.
This project also supports Building Together, the Government of Ontario's long-term infrastructure plan to repair, rebuild and renew the province's roads and highways, bridges, public transit, schools and postsecondary institutions, hospitals and courthouses. Through Building Together, Ontario plans to invest more than $35 billion over the next three years to create or preserve over 100,000 jobs on average each year. Infrastructure investments create high-quality employment, support economic growth and helps make Ontario's economy more productive.
For further information on Canada's infrastructure investments and to stay up-to-date with Infrastructure Canada Web feeds, visit www.infrastucture.gc.ca.
For more information on how Ontario is revitalizing its infrastructure, visit www.ontario.ca/infrastructure.
For additional information, please contact:
Geneviève Sicard
Office of the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities
613-991-0700
David Salter
Office of the Minister of Infrastructure & Transportation (Ontario)
416-327-1815
Pamela Janes
Halton Region Contact
905-825-6000, extension 7232
Toll-free: 1-866-442-5866
Infrastructure Canada
613-960-9251
Toll free: 1-877-250-7154
