Ontario is providing $30 million to help 14 municipalities repair roads and bridges through the government’s Connecting Links Program. Eligible costs include the design, construction, renewal, rehabilitation and replacement of municipal roads and bridges that connect two ends of a provincial highway through a community or to a border crossing.

“By investing in our roads and bridges we’re connecting people to jobs, supporting the movement of goods and creating economic growth in local communities,” said Caroline Mulroney, minister of transportation. “This funding not only helps municipalities maintain local infrastructure, but also supports projects that make roads safer, such as improvements to pedestrian crossings.”

The funding being announced April 9 is part of the province’s commitment of more than $21 billion in highway, road and bridge projects over the next 10 years, which will contribute significantly to Ontario’s COVID-19 recovery.

Through the Connecting Links Program, funding will be provided to eligible municipalities of up to 90% of eligible project costs, up to a maximum of $3 million for road projects. In response to municipal feedback, starting in 2021-22, the province is permanently raising the maximum amount of available funding for bridge projects from $3 million to $5 million to reflect the higher costs of maintaining and repairing bridges compared to roads.

Eligible municipalities are also encouraged to apply for the 2022-23 Connecting Links Program, which will be open to applications later this year. In Ontario, there are a total of 352 kilometers of Connecting Links, with 70 bridges in 77 municipalities.