Harper and McGuinty pledge millions for Ontario roads—everywhere but Toronto

Less than two weeks after announcing that $4 billion in funding for GTA public transit is being held back, Dalton McGuinty and Stephen Harper have unveiled plans to spend nearly $140 million on driver-oriented infrastructure upgrades throughout Ontario—that is, with the minor exception of Toronto.

A total of 43 projects jointly paid for by the federal and provincial governments—none of them specific to Toronto—will see highways, roads and bridges province-wide getting facelifts. The money will come from the Infrastructure Stimulus Fund and will create work for about 1,200 people (though David Miller told the Star that delays in transit expansion mean delays in creating “thousands” of jobs).

Some of the work includes resurfacing the QEW to Highway 6 in Burlington, and around $20 million will go to fixing 67 kilometres of Highway 6 from Tobermory, which will make it “a rather nice drive to reach the recreation areas,” Harper told the press.

That sounds quaint, as does the plan to upgrade Highway 11 into cottage country. We’ll need a relaxing vacation to recover from our hellish daily commute home from work.

• Ottawa, Ontario to spend $138.7-million on infrastructure upgrades [Globe and Mail]
• Ontario to see millions in infrastructure fixes [Toronto Star]
• $139M coming for Ont. highways, bridges, roads [CTV]