Time for Morriston bypass is now, Arnott tells Legislature – Speech
November 30, 2015 – Morriston Bypass
Ontario Hansard – 30-November2015
Mr. Ted Arnott: As members of this House know, for years we’ve been advocating for a bypass on
Highway 6 around the community of Morriston in the township of Puslinch.
I’ve been in Puslinch township the past two weekends to attend public events. People there understand the Highway 6 Morriston bypass is urgently needed. The traffic bottleneck in Morriston directly impacts the safety of local residents. However, it extends beyond that. Because Highway 6 is such a key economic
corridor, connecting the 401 to the Hamilton-Niagara region, as well as to the US border, the traffic jams, which often stretch for kilometres, are costing our provincial economy millions of dollars each and every year. This was demonstrated in a University of Waterloo study conducted two years ago.
Mayor Dennis Lever and township council have pushed strongly for the Highway 6 Morriston bypass
project. The county of Wellington, the city of Guelph and the city of Hamilton all support the Morriston
bypass. So do the Guelph and Hamilton chambers of commerce, as well as Tim Hortons, Maple Leaf
Foods, Nestlé Waters, Canada Bread and Cargill.
I appreciate the interest the Minister of Transportation has shown in our project. We’re taking him at his
word that he’s pushing for it. And we know the Premier has also publicly acknowledged the importance of the Morriston bypass in this very House.
Based on my experience in the Legislature, I’m aware that the Ministry of Transportation will be
preparing its pre-budget submissions right now. I urge the minister to continue to push hard. We’ve been waiting for this project for a generation. Let’s work together to get it done.