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Snow plows versus winter at Kanata, Ontario. Winter season of 2024/25

Ontario’s transportation minister expresses confidence with winter road maintenance procedures

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Ontario’s Transportation Minister says contractors handling winter road maintenance for the province are meeting the standards put in front of them.

The province wants a road cleared to bare pavement within 12 hours after a storm.

Speaking before a legislative committee at Queen’s Park, Prabmeet Sakaria says the benchmark is being met.

“We can see that just this year alone we’re clearing and hitting that standard almost on average four hours before that is meant to be,” says Sakaria.

Sakaria points to the investments made to help reach the goal.

He says close to $400 million was spent on winter road maintenance last winter, a 6% increase from the winter before.

Additional equipment has also been added to make the job easier.

“We have added almost 300 new pieces of winter maintenance equipment that we’ve asked and worked with the contractors and invested in have been put in place over the past several years to be able to better respond to weather events that happen in the north,” says Sakaria.

“We work with all of our contractors. We hold them to account anytime that we hear that they are not addressing the needs that they are contracted to do. And we’ll make sure that we continue to have that work reviewed and make sure that they’re delivering the best standards.”

The Transportation Minister adds that 23 portable variable message signs have also been placed along highways to provide motorists with up-to-date information on weather and road conditions.

The province also added 652 cameras to improve monitoring of roads.

Third Street West Apr 23 2026 (2)

Work on unfinished Fort Frances road projects set to resume

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There will be some traffic adjustments for motorists in Fort Frances starting Sunday.

Two road construction projects that were not completed last year are expected to resume.

This includes the work on Third Street West.

Crews will be working between Cornwall and York Avenues.

Motorists will detour around the construction site using Fourth Street West, starting Sunday.

A section of Scott Street will be closed, likely starting on Monday.

Crews will be finishing up a project that started at Reid Avenue and will conclude at Crowe Avenue.

A third project to take place on Scott between Crowe and Victoria Avenues is scheduled to start in the coming weeks.

Council awarded the contract for that project to another construction firm after expressing concern with the time it was taking to complete the others.

Hwy 11-71 International Falls Google Maps

Public meeting this month on International Falls Hwy 11-71 corridor study

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The Minnesota Department of Transportation will provide an update on its Highway 11-71 corridor study that is being conducted International Falls.

A public meeting will take place on February 10th at Minnesota North College beginning at 5 p.m.

MnDOT is considering measures to improve road safety between Koochiching County Road 91 and Highway 53/Second Avenue.

Project team representatives will be on hand to provide a brief presentation, gather public feedback, and address questions.

Some of the public’s suggestions from a meeting in the fall included improving pedestrian crosswalks, traffic signals and installing a roundabout.

Final recommendations are expected to be revealed by June.

Traffic lights June 2025 (2)

Road safety funding program requested from provincial government

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A new road safety program is being proposed to the provincial government.

Ontario Good Roads is requesting a five-year program to support small and rural municipalities in covering the costs of implementing safety measures.

Speaking to a legislative committee holding pre-budget consultations in Thunder Bay on Wednesday, President Cheryl Fort says things like better signage, lighting and rumble strips can make a difference.

Cheryl Fort, President of Ontario Good Roads, speaks at the pre-budget hearing in Thunder Bay, January 28, 2026. Queen’s Park screen shot

“And after the five years, we figure that we will have done enough proactive work to minimize it into the future,” says Fort.

Fort sees cost savings for the province and municipalities in working to reduce collisions.

She says the program could achieve $ 651 million in reduced costs for things such as vehicle repairs, insurance costs, healthcare, and lost time resulting from collisions.

“We have less in collisions. We have less responses that we have to respond to,” says Fort.

“If we have no collision, we don’t have to respond. And that’s what we’re saying with the rural roads is that by putting the signage, putting in these easy measurable fixes, we can reduce the strain on health care.”

Fort says some municipalities are already taking the initiative to fund safety measures.

She says the installation of a flashing light in one community stopped fatal collisions from happening in an intersection.