The work, which will proceed under a public-private partnership (P3) arrangement, calls for widening a stretch of road of approximately 16 kilometres from two lanes to four between Essex and Leamington.

The money will allow the company to adopt a new panel finishing line that will increase productivity by 50 percent. The company will also use the funding to create seven new full-time jobs.

The crossing is the oldest in the National Capital Region, and will see extensive repair work at a cost of just shy of $25 million.

Work on a 20-kilometre stretch of the highway will be performed by a contracting partnership that involves Garden River First Nation, Shwe Miikaan Corporation and Miller Paving Limited.

The national housing agency has contributed $14 million to a project that will build more than 50 affordable housing units in Toronto’s Parkdale neighbourhood.