MPP Arnott pushes Government for funding needed to replace St. David Street Bridge

NEWS RELEASE
Ted Arnott, MPP
Wellington-Halton Hills
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 19, 2016

MPP Arnott pushes Government for funding needed to
replace St. David Street Bridge

(Wellington-Halton Hills) – Wellington-Halton Hills MPP Ted Arnott is pushing the Minister of
Transportation to approve Connecting Link funding to replace the St. David Street Bridge in
Fergus.

Crossing the Grand River on Highway 6 in downtown Fergus, the bridge is in urgent need of
replacement due to its age and deteriorating condition. If it is not replaced in the next two or
three years, the Township of Centre Wellington may have no choice but to place load
restrictions on it, resulting in traffic chaos.

Mr. Arnott, who spoke to Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca in the Ontario Legislature
after Question Period on February 18 and gave him a letter in support of the project, was
following up on a resolution passed by Township of Centre Wellington Council.

“I work closely with Township Council and staff, and I strongly support their application for
provincial funding to assist with this needed project,” Mr. Arnott wrote to the Minister.

The Connecting Link program provides municipalities with funding for up to 90% of the cost of
necessary road and bridge repairs on provincial highways passing through built up areas.

The Government abruptly cancelled the program in 2013. This decision, made without
consultation, had a hugely negative impact on local municipalities including the Town of Halton
Hills and the Township of Centre Wellington.

After the program was cancelled, Mr. Arnott repeatedly pushed the Government to restore the
program. He raised the issue in the Legislature on a number of occasions, using the need to
replace the St. David Street Bridge as a specific example of why the program needed to be
restored.

“Our local Mayors and Councils also showed great leadership and were very vocal about their
disappointment with the Government’s decision,” Mr. Arnott said.”

Last April, the Government announced that the program would be restored in some form.

“While we are pleased that the Government recognized that cancelling the program in the first
place was a mistake, the $15 million commitment to the new Connecting Link program is
considerably less that what the Government has spent in some previous years under the old
program,” Mr. Arnott pointed out.

The Government allocated $25.3 million in 2007/08 and $24.3 million in 2009/10 in Connecting
Link funding.

“I hope that the Minister listens and approves the funding for the replacement of the St. David
Street Bridge,” Mr. Arnott said.

Mr. Arnott plans to follow up with the Minister again next week with more information on the
project.

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Ted Arnott, MPP
Phone: 416-325-3880
Email: ted.arnott@pc.ola.org