The Ontario Government has awarded the first contract for the widening of an eastern Ontario highway project.

On January 29, Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke MPP John Yakabuski announced that the province has awarded a $25-million contract to build an interchange at Highway 17 and Calabogie Road. The project is the first step in the process to widen the highway from two lanes to four between Arnprior and Renfrew.

“Building a new interchange at Highway 17 and Calabogie Road provides increased safety and traffic improvements for this area while also laying the groundwork for the widening of Highway 17,” said Yakabuski. “We have made significant progress on this project and I can't wait to see the positive impact it will have once completed.”

The construction of the interchange is Stage 1 of the project to widen 22.5 kilometres of Highway 17 in Renfrew County. The province awarded the $25-million contract to design and build the new interchange to Aecon Construction Ontario East Limited.

The province has also said it will maintain a long-term working relationship with the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation, the Algonquins of Ontario and other affected Indigenous communities to ensure the project’s successful completion.

"I am pleased with the collaborative spirit and level of engagement that MTO has shown my Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation Consultation team,” said Chief Wendy Jocko, Chief of Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation. “We look forward to continuing that relationship in support of this important initiative."

The detailed design for the new interchange is expected to begin immediately. Construction will start once the design and environmental assessment are complete and is expected to be finished by the end of 2023.

Highway 17/417 is the longest provincial highway in Ontario, stretching for more than 1,900 kilometres from the Ontario/Manitoba border to the Quebec border in Eastern Ontario.

The second stage of the widening project will include building three additional new interchanges and widening Highway 17 from two lanes to four from Scheel Drive in the Township of McNab/Braeside to just west of Bruce Street in Horton Township.

It is not yet clear when work on that phase will begin.