A major infrastructure announcement has been made for Windsor-Essex, while work is beginning on an important road project.
Premier Doug Ford was in Kingsville Monday morning to announce the official start of construction on the Highway 3 widening project. The final phase of widening the highway from two to four lanes between Essex and Leamington is underway.
"It's an exciting day for Kingsville but this is a regional benefit for everybody," said Kingsville Mayor Dennis Rogers. "There's people who haven't driven on this highway for years because of the fear of safety and now we're eliminating that."
Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy, Windsor-Tecumseh MPP Andrew Dowie, Kingsville Mayor Dennis Rogers, Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens, and MTO Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria joined Ford for the announcement.
The province also announced $50-million will be invested to build a new interchange at E.C. Row Expressway and Banwell Road in Windsor, near the under-construction electric vehicle battery plant and the soon-to-be-built Windsor-Essex acute-care hospital.
"The projects will better connect communities in Windsor-Essex, cut down on commute times, attract more investments and create more good-paying jobs. We're building the infrastructure Windsor-Essex needs to reach its full potential," said Ford.
The City of Windsor has been planning for upgrades to this intersection for many years. But the need for the upgrades became pressing with the opening of the battery plant on the horizon.
"We have about a two-year schedule to see this work done. It is a massive amount of work. We could not have done this properly without the support of the province," said Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens.
-with files from Maureen Revait