Bay of Quinte MPP Todd Smith appeared just off Millennium Parkway in the north end of Belleville Monday morning to announce the province is fully committed to the widening of Highway 401 through Belleville and Quinte West and improving interchanges.
Smith says the region has grown to the point that the highway must be expanded.
“When the local priorities came out for Mayor Harrison and Mayor Panciuk and the councils and the Eastern Ontario mayors’ council as well, the number one priority that they shared with our provincial government was widening from four lanes, two in each direction, to six lanes, three in each direction, because of the growth that we’re seeing in the area.”
The province’s draft master transportation plan for Eastern Ontario commits to a complete study to plan for rehabilitation, increase safety and identify transportation improvements including working with the City of Belleville on the Belleville East Arterial Road (BEAR) and adding another exit in the east end of the city.
Mayor Mitch Panciuk says a proper interchange allowing access to the city’s industrial park is needed to allow tandem trucks to safely enter and exit the North East Industrial Park and keep that truck traffic off Cannifton Road.
“Without this, it would limit our growth to the east. We are already now at almost capacity for our industrial park. We’ll be going farther to the east. It just would have made it more difficult to get vehicle or traffic in there.”
Belleville Mayor Mitch Panciuk speaks at Belleville Nissan on Millennium Parkway Monday, May 2, 2022 reacting to the announcement that the widening of Highway 401 through the Quinte Region and the BEAR are officially on the province’s draft transportation plan for eastern Ontario. (Photo: Quinte News)
“There was a real willingness on her part to come here and see the need, understand what the BEAR was and then have it included in the master plan. Because, you know, it wasn’t in there. And so this has been quite an accomplishment in the last year to get it included in the east region master plan and then get the funding included in the budget.”
Retiring Hastings Lennox & Addington MPP Daryl Kramp and Quinte West Mayor Jim Harrison were also in attendance.
Kramp applauded the announcement and praised the work of Smith and local politicians to get the expansion and the BEAR into the master plan.
Smith could not to commit to a timeline for the work.
He says the master plan could change if the Progressive Conservatives are not re-elected in June.
