No. H 165/08
For release - June 27, 2008

Canada and Ontario to Widen County Road 22

The widening of Essex County Road 22 from two lanes to four lanes, including major improvements to the Pike Creek bridge, will provide improved traffic operations, better highway access to the border for regional commercial and commuter traffic in Essex County, and improvements to safety and capacity.

"The Government of Canada is committed to working with our municipal partners and the Province of Ontario in the development of additional border capacity and to implementing projects identified under the Let's Get Windsor-Essex Moving strategy," said the Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities.

"Initiatives such as the widening of County Road 22 will help the community prosper by relieving traffic congestion and improving traffic flows," said Jeff Watson, Member of Parliament for Essex.

"We recognize the importance of our highways to Ontario's prosperity," said Ontario Minister of Transportation, the Honourable Jim Bradley. "Improving the flow of traffic in this important corridor is a top priority for the McGuinty government and we are excited to be moving forward on this important project."

"These improvements will benefit travellers and commercial operations in Essex County by providing improved access to Essex County Road 19 (Manning Road) and Essex County Road 22," said County of Essex Warden, Nelson Santos.

Mr. Watson and Bruce Crozier, Member of Provincial Parliament for Essex, were on hand to announce the funding and unveil a new sign along County Road 22 where the work will begin later this summer, pending the awarding of the construction contract.

A call for construction tenders will be posted and advertised in local newspapers on June 28, 2008. Following the awarding of the contract, construction is expected to begin later this summer.

In addition to the Essex County Road 22 widening, construction is continuing on the Walker Road CPR grade separation and the Highway 401 widening from east of Highway 3 to west of Manning Road.

Completed projects announced as part of the Let's Get Windsor-Essex Moving strategy include:

• a pedestrian overpass on Huron Church Road at Assumption High School;
• intersection improvements on Highway 3 and Huron Church Road;
• the implementation of intelligent transportation systems such as traffic cameras to improve traffic management, video monitoring and driver information; and
• the installation of new signs for the Detroit-Windsor Truck Ferry.

Federal financial support for this project is conditional on the initiative meeting all applicable federal eligibility requirements.

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