Ontario to improve local roads and water supply in Hastings County

Ontario is providing more than $7.6 million to the communities of Bancroft, Centre Hastings, Limerick, Marmora and Lake, Tweed and Wollaston, through the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund.

As part of 59 approved projects across the province that will receive funding this year:

• The Town of Bancroft will receive up to $2 million to help improve water supply in the town.
• The Township of Limerick will receive up to $1,524,874, to rehabilitate Steenburg Lake  North Road.
• The Municipality of Tweed will receive up to $1,437,396 to rehabilitate Crookston Road from the municipal boundary east for more than five kilometres.
• The Township of Wollaston will receive up to $1,132,436 to rehabilitate Ridge Road and North Steenburg Lake Road.
• The Municipality of Centre Hastings will receive up to $891,570 to help improve water quality in the town.
• The Municipality of Marmora and Lake will receive up to $677,722 to help rehabilitate Don Shannon’s bridge.

These projects are six of 19 approved in Eastern Ontario through the 2015-2016 round of the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund, for a total provincial investment of more than $23 million in Eastern Ontario.

Through the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund, the province is expanding access to predictable, stable, annual funding to build and repair roads, bridges, water and wastewater infrastructure in Ontario communities. As announced in the 2016 Ontario Budget, funding for the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund will triple from $100 million to $300 million per year by 2018-19, which will include $200 million in predictable, formula-based funding and $100 million in application-based funding.

Brad Duguid.

“Modern, sustainable infrastructure is essential in the success of any municipality. This government understands just how vital predictable, stable funding for infrastructure renewal is to ensuring success for all communities across Ontario now and in the future. This announcement reflects our government’s ongoing commitment to infrastructure across this province. We will continue to listen to the needs of municipalities and provide the critical funding needed across Ontario,” said Minister of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure, Brad Duguid.

Ontario is making the largest investment in public infrastructure in the province’s history — about $160 billion over 12 years, which is supporting 110,000 jobs every year across the province, with projects such as roads, bridges, transit systems, schools and hospitals. In 2015, the province announced support for more than 325 projects that will keep people and goods moving, connect communities and improve quality of life.

Expanding and improving infrastructure for Ontario’s small, rural and northern municipalities is part of the government’s economic plan to build Ontario up and deliver on its number-one priority to grow the economy and create jobs. The four-part plan includes investing in talent and skills, including helping more people get and create the jobs of the future by expanding access to high-quality college and university education.

The plan is making the largest investment in public infrastructure in Ontario’s history and investing in a low-carbon economy driven by innovative, high-growth, export-oriented businesses. The plan is also helping working Ontarians achieve a more secure retirement.

Quick Facts

• Currently, 50 per cent of the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund is allocated annually using a fair and transparent formula, which recognizes that municipalities have different infrastructure and unique needs. The remaining 50 per cent is available through an application-based process, allowing municipalities to continue partnering with the province to invest in critical infrastructure projects.
• To date, more than 135 critical infrastructure projects have been approved through the fund’s application-based component for a total investment of $174 million. In addition, 425 communities have received grants under the fund’s formula-based component for a total provincial investment of $50 million per year.
• The new changes to the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund reflect consultation feedback from municipal leaders from across Ontario about improvements to the program.