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Northern Ontario road safety measures, nothing new to Thunder Bay-area MPP

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A northwestern Ontario MPP says a recent announcement to improve road safety in northern Ontario is a re-announcement.

The province is promising to hire more Ministry of Transportation inspectors and accelerate plans to four-lane Highway 11-17 between Thunder Bay and Shabaqua.

It includes the hiring of more Ministry of Transportation inspection officers and electronic road signs.

Thunder Bay-Superior North MPP Lise Vaugeois says it sounds good, but they are really measures the government has promised before.

“These are re-announcements, so it’s not actually anything new, but it does show that they’re feeling the heat,” says Vaugeois.

There was no mention of staffing for an inspection station in Shuniah.

Vaugeois says there may be some action taking place.

” I heard… that 21 people are in the pipeline being trained for Shuniah. I’m hoping that they are coming from the region because the MTO has had a habit of sending people up from southern Ontario, and they get some training, and then they leave.”

The government’s announcement also offers no mention of plans to improve truck driver training.

Vaugeois says it is something the industry is looking for.

“I’ve met with many of the drivers; they want that training,” says Vaugeois.

“They want the industry regulated. They want to know that they’re safe on the highways.”

The NDP has put forward a separate private member’s bill addressing training.

It is before Queen’s Park, awaiting second reading.

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Province commits to road safety measures for northern Ontario

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The provincial government is committing to a number of measures to improve road safety in northern Ontario.

The action follows several lengthy closures and fatal collisions on Highways 11 and 17 this winter.

NDP MPPs from northern Ontario also recently travelled by vehicle across northern Ontario, documenting safety concerns they and others from the region have long expressed.

The province says it plans to increase the number of transportation enforcement officers in the region and conduct more enforcement blitzes, focusing on large commercial vehicles.

It also plans to deploy two mobile inspection units this spring as part of that enforcement.

The province is also looking to improve and upgrade highway signage to make it more visible to motorists.

New portable electronic messaging signs that provide motorists with safety information, weather conditions and road closures will also be installed.

“Our government is keenly aware how important safe roads, bridges and highways are to the residents, visitors and businesses in the north who rely on them daily,” states George Pirie, Minister of Northern Economic Development and Growth, in a release.

“That is why we are taking action to improve safety, increase enforcement and make targeted investments that will keep people safe and goods moving, while strengthening connections between northern and remote communities.”

The province also intends to advance the preliminary design work on a four-lane highway between Thunder Bay and Shabaqua.

Public meetings will be held this spring.

Work is also proposed on upgrading the provincial rest areas in northern Ontario to provide more year-round truck parking.

“Highways 11 and 17 are lifelines for northern Ontario, and we’re making them safer and more reliable by cracking down on dangerous driving, strengthening enforcement and investing in new safety measures that keep people and goods moving,” states Prabmeet Sarkaria, Minister of Transportation.

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NDP continues to push for northern highway improvements

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The provincial NDP continues to lobby for measures that improve road safety in northern Ontario.

A Private Member’s Bill was voted down at Queen’s Park earlier this year.

MPPs informed the legislature on Thursday that highways in northwestern Ontario have been shut down more than 550 times this year.

Many of the closures have been related to collisions involving transports.

Timiskaming MPP John Vathof dismisses the government’s explanation.

“The minister yesterday said that’s because the police closed them, the OPP closed them,” says Vanthof.

“The OPP doesn’t just close them for fun. They close them because of accidents, because of people getting run off the roads by badly-trained cross-country truck drivers.”

The Private Member’s Bill had proposed increased enforcement by Ministry of Transportation inspectors and that truck inspection stations stay open longer.

Thunder Bay-Superior North MPP Lise Vaugeois says an inspection station near Thunder Bay is rarely open.

“The Minister of Transportation has said that inspection stations should be staffed 24/7. Yet our brand new $30 million inspection station in Shuniah is almost never open,” says Vaugeois.

Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sakaria says they have more than doubled the number of MTO enforcement officers working in the north from 19 to 50.

He adds they conducted over 90,000 inspections since January, a 35% increase over last year.

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Speed Limits Increase in Some Parts of Ontario

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No change in northwestern Ontario, but the province is looking at higher speed limits on some provincial highways.

Next month, the speed limit will be raised permanently to 110 kilometres an hour on certain sections of the Queen Elizabeth Way and Highways 401, 402, and 417 in southern Ontario.

The change follows several speed limit pilots and consultations.

The province says it will now run pilot projects on some highways in northeastern Ontario.

Speed limits remain 90 km/h on most major roadways in northwestern Ontario.

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First Contract Awarded For Hwy Twinning

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A first contract has been issued for the planned twinning of the Trans Canada Highway between Kenora and the Manitoba border.

The province is awarding the work to Kenora-based Moncreif Construction.

It will work on the first section of the project, a 6.5-kilometre stretch, starting at the Manitoba-Ontario border.

The work will start this spring, ending in the summer of 2025.

“Awarding the construction contract for twinning Highway 17 is an exciting milestone towards making this critical highway safer for drivers in northern Ontario,” says Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney.

The contract includes requirements to work with area Indigenous partners in the area.

Construction on two other of the four-laning will take place once environmental assessment, and route planning and design are complete.

The other sections include Highway 673 to Rush Bay Road (8.5 km) and Rush Bay Rd. to Highway 17A (25 km).

“The twinning of Highway 17 is a legacy infrastructure project that will make roads safer in the Kenora region,” says Kenora-Rainy River MPP Greg Rickford. “Families deserve to feel safe on the roads and that is exactly what our government will accomplish by widening this stretch of the highway. Having more room on the road is critical, especially during the winter months in northern Ontario.”

 

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By-Pass Detours Planned Starting Wednesday

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You can expect heavy traffic in the Kenora area over the next few days.

The western end of the Kenora By-Pass will be completely closed to traffic Wednesday and Thursday from Highway 596 right to the end.

That heavy traffic will come from the detour for eastbound traffic.

Those vehicles will go through Keewatin and then along Lakeview Drive before turning north at the roundabout and rejoining the bypass at Veterans Drive.

The westbound traffic shouldn’t impact the city too much; that detour takes them along Highways 596 and 641.

The detours are due to work being done by Tycon Construction along the By-Pass, which has caused delays over recent weeks.

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Trans-Canada Highway Open Following Detours

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Other than construction, it’s once again smooth sailing between Dryden and Winnipeg.

A crash involving a transport closed a portion of the Trans-Canada Highway in both directions just west of the Ontario/Manitoba boundary for most of Sunday.

Detours were in place following the lunch-time incident, and officials say the road was re-opened earlier Monday morning.

There have been no reports of injuries or what caused the crash.