Eastern Ontario transport plan calls for Hwy 417 widening in Ottawa
As part of its draft transportation plan for Eastern Ontario, the provincial government is committing to widening a five-kilometre section of Highway 417 in downtown Ottawa.
Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney announced the plan on. April 21. It contains more than 50 near- and long-term actions that the province says will help address gridlock and support economic growth.
Our government is building Ontario by getting shovels in the ground on highways, roads and public transit needed to fight gridlock and keep goods and people moving,” said Mulroney. “Our transportation plan for eastern Ontario will unlock access to housing, employment and tourist destinations, while supporting significant trade corridors and economic growth in the region.”
The plan calls for the expansion of Highway 417 to four continuous lanes in each direction between Highway 416 and Maitland Avenue in Ottawa – an initiative that has been on the books since before the City of Ottawa opted to run its light rail line alongside the highway.
Additional proposals in the plan call for long-term planning work to widen Highway 401 to up to eight lanes in the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, improvements to local and intercommunity bus services, new truck stops along Highway 401, and the development of a new marine strategy.
The province says the plan, which is the final of four it has created, has been informed by research, technical work, an online public survey, a series of Parliamentary Assistant-hosted roundtables, and a separate roundtable with eastern Indigenous communities.
As part of the evolution of the plan, the province will conduct a long-range technical study of the transportation network. This work will involve broad engagement and will commence in summer 2022.
Eastern Ontario is home to 1.8 million people and covers approximately 44,000 square kilometres, extending from the District of Muskoka in the west to the United Counties of Prescott and Russell in the east.
The region has an extensive transportation network, featuring multiple 400-series highways, Class I railways, several public and private ferry services, international border crossings, an international airport, several ports, and multi-use trails.