Greater Sudbury’s two NDP MPPs have been actively pushing for the province to finish the remaining 68 kilometres of four-laning Hwy. 69, sending out another open letter this week.
As the province works on four-laning Highway 3 in St. Thomas, Greater Sudbury’s two NDP MPPs are raising the question: what about completing the last 68 kilometres of Highway 69?
“We can’t emphasize enough how crucial it is to finish this key corridor,” Jamie West (Sudbury) and France Gélinas (Nickel Belt) stated in their latest open letter to Transportation Minister Prabmeet Singh Sarkaria. “As your government knows well, livelihoods and lives depend on it.”
“Does this also mean that Northern Ontario will see real steps taken to twin/four-lane the remaining 68 km of Highway 69? This is something your government has promised for almost a decade.”
The open letter further shares that the Ministry of Transportation informed CTV News that “the remaining 68 kilometres are moving through engineering, approvals and consultation right now.”
“These vague statements don’t provide much comfort to our constituents or those who travel Highway 69 that real action is being taken and that this project is actually progressing.”
On this topic, provincial officials have consistently avoided answering basic questions about Highway 69, including inquiries made by Sudbury. com, Greater Sudbury’s MPPs, and a private resident who submitted freedom of information requests.
Earlier this month, Sudbury. com questioned Parry Sound-Muskoka Progressive Conservative MPP and Municipal Affairs and Housing Associate Minister Graydon Smith about Highway 69 while he was in Sudbury for an unrelated media event. He said four-laning the highway remains a “priority,” but there isn’t a specific timeline set.
Last week, West and Gélinas kicked off their “Four Lanes, Zero Excuses” campaign urging the province to complete four-laning Highway 69. They’ve set up a website at jamiewestmpp. ca/4lane69 to promote their initiative along with billboards, lawn signs, buttons, vehicle stickers, and a petition.
This campaign is just one more effort from the MPPs over recent years which has included advocacy in Queen’s Park, open letters, and a community event earlier this year following recent accidents on the two-lane stretch of Highway 69.
Suketu Patel, a friend of Sudburians Vinod and Shilpa Patel who died on that section of Highway 69 on April 7, has also started his own advocacy site at savelivesonhw69. com. The site includes a petition that had gathered 10,328 verified signatures as of July 30. The petition on West/Gélinas’s campaign website launched last week already had collected 640 signatures.
Given the unclear comments from the province about Highway 69 recently, West and Gélinas’s latest open letter asks for some specific information:
Have engineers and consultants been assigned to this project? If so, who are they and what’s the timeline for them?
Is all engineering work being done internally at MTO or is it contracted out?
Could you share contact information with our offices so we can communicate directly with those involved?
Although past reluctance from the Ministry of Transportation suggests these questions may not be answered satisfactorily anytime soon, Sudbury. com will keep an eye on developments regarding these inquiries.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury. com.
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