Proposals for reconstruction of Frederick Street bridge to begin as part of Hwy 7 expansion

Proposals for the reconstruction of the Frederick Street bridge as part of the new Highway 7 between Kitchener and Guelph are set to go out at the end of the month.

That was part of an announcement by Ontario Minister of Transportation Prabmeet Sarkaria Wednesday morning in Kitchener, where he talked about his government's commitment to expand that portion of Highway 7.

"The people of Kitchener and Waterloo have waited too long for a new highway and this Highway 7 will be a game-changer to reduce gridlock in the community," he said.

"The bridge will need to be extended and lengthened to ensure traffic can flow in both directions with shoulders and multi-use paths accessible for pedestrians and cyclists."

Starting Feb. 28, contractors will be able to submit proposals for the replacement of the Frederick Street bridge, which will accommodate the widening of Highway 7, Sarkaria said, but would not confirm if construction could begin later this year.

Sarkaria added the replacement of the Frederick Street bridge is part of a third phase of expanding Highway 7, which will include four lanes, seven interchanges between Kitchener and Guelph, a multi-level connection to Highway 85 and a new crossing over the Grand River once completed.

The expansion is part of the province's $28-billion investment to build more roads and highways across the province.

Ontario's NDP put out a release shortly after the announcement criticizing the Ford government for not having a firm timeline on the project.

"Today, Ford's Conservatives once again left the residents of Kitchener-Waterloo waiting to see if a firm timeline will ever be announced for the badly needed Highway 7 expansion project," the NDP said in the release.

"This is a long-delayed, long-overdue expansion for one of the busiest two-lane highways in Ontario."

Highway expansion good for economic development

Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic said the reconstruction of the Frederick Street Bridge is key to moving the project forward, but also to moving goods across Ontario and for the cities' economic development.

'Waterloo region and Guelph have a combined employment of over 430,000 jobs and more than 17,000 residents commute between our communities daily just for their employment," he said.

"The unrestricted movement through this corridor is vital for economic development and for the provincial manufacturing sector."

Kitchener City Coun. Scott Davey, who is also the chair of the city's finance committee, added the economical growth between the Kitchener and Guelph corridor is "huge". 

"Not only can we leverage what we already have, but we'll be able to save a lot of time in terms of the transport of goods and making sure we can link up our educational institutions as well," he told CBC News.

Kitchener GO line a priority for Ford government

Minister Sarkaria also talked about his government's investment into public transit networks to bring more service and two-way, all-day GO trains to communities.

When asked about increasing weekend GO train services in Waterloo region, he said the Kitchener GO line is an important transit line for his government.

"We're working with our partners to invest $70 billion in new public transit infrastructure investment and we've made progress on the Kitchener line, improving service by 25 per cent," he said.

"We obviously have some challenges with CN and we're working together with them, but we're fully committed to increasing service levels on Kitchener GO."

That could included bringing more weekend GO train service between Kitchener and Toronto, and a morning train from Toronto to Kitchener on weekdays, he said.