A northern Ontario MPP is calling for a reclassification of Highways 11 and 17 in northern Ontario to improve on winter maintenance.
The NDP’s Guy Bourgouin is putting forward a private member’s bill that would up the designation from Class 2 to Class 1.
“By doing that, it says that the highway needs to be cleaned eight hours after the end of the snow fall and that it’s not the case as we stand now,” says Bourgouin.
Under a Class 2 highway, the contractors responsible for snow plowing have 16 hours after a storm to clear the highway to provincial standards.
Bourgoin’s proposal would put northern Ontario’s two major highways on the same standards as the 400 series in southern Ontario.
“It helps northern Ontario have safer highways and cleaner highways when a snowstorm happens and it will alleviate a lot of problems for our region.”
The MPP for Mushkegowuk-James Bay would like to have designation change in place for next winter.
